DURANT - Matt Stwan carried Durant offensively Friday, churning out 183 yards on 27 carries. But the one yard he couldn't get was the difference.
Stwan was stuffed twice at the 1 in overtime, and East Bay's Randy Merrell found the end zone from the same distance as the Indians upset the Cougars 20-14.
The teams combined for 725 yards on the ground, and both were exhausted afterward.
"It reminded me of the Rocky movies," East Bay coach Brian Thornton said. "We were both beat up and stumbling around, but we hung in there and got it done at the end."
The Cougars (2-1, 1-1 in Class 5A, District 7), ranked No. 6 in 5A, positioned themselves to win in regulation. Tied at 14, they had the ball at the Indians 24, but Durrell Williams intercepted Chip Bowden's pass in the end zone with 26 seconds left. Senior Brandon Zackery was magnificent in his return as starting quarterback for the Indians (2-1, 1-1).
Sophomore Joey Stephens took over at the end of last season when Zackery broke his leg and started the first two games this year. But with the offense sputtering in a 10-7 win at Plant and a loss at Lakeland, Thornton moved Zackery from tailback to quarterback.
Zackery rushed for 238 yards on 16 carries, including a 74-yard score to give East Bay a 7-0 first-quarter lead.
"Everyone was saying we were going to lose," Zackery said. "The newspapers said we were going to lose, but we showed that we're here to play."
