CAMBRIDGE — Indian Creek football coach Andrew Connor has been in football mode since guiding Ohio to an OVAC All-Star game victory last month.

On Friday, his own team took the field for the first time in the 2019 season and didn’t disappoint.

Senior quarterback Sam Mazar scrambled for three touchdowns, and highly touted running back Trevor Fante added another, as Indian Creek shut down Cambridge, 27-0, at McFarland Stadium.

All four Creek touchdown drives began in Cambridge territory.

“A win is a win,” Connor said. “I think our kids came here to play football, and I think Cambridge is a good football team. They play hard and they hit. but I thought our kids responded well.

“We made our first-game mistakes, but when you can score four touchdowns and get a shutout, you should be happy with your kids and I am. I’m happy for them because they worked hard to get to this point.”

The Redskins’ defense did its job, as well, holding Cambridge without a first down until late in the third quarter when Creek roughed the Bobcats’ punter after a three-and-out.

Cambridge was held to (-8) yards of offense in the first half and finished the game with 46 total yards and five first downs.

“They got after it,” Connor said of his defense. “I’m proud of the kids, and I thought our defensive staff did a good job coming up with a game plan. I thought both sides of the ball put together good game plans and we executed well.”

Junior linebacker Jeremy Brown made his presence felt all night. He recorded three sacks and recovered a fumble for the Redskins, who forced three fumbles overall.

When Cambridge quarterback Cody Moore did have time to throw, the Creek secondary didn’t make it easy on him. Brock Lucas intercepted a pass, and Moore went 4 for 8 for 59 yards.

“We knew coming in that they had a good team up front and defensively,” Cambridge coach Josh Lowery said. “Our defense did their job, but we didn’t help them out offensively.

“Their penetration (gave us problems). They blitzed and we didn’t pick up the blitz very well. They got their defensive linemen in the backfield and against the Wing-T, that’s what you want to do.”

After both teams went three-and-out to start the game, the Bobcats were setup to punt, but a bad snap was recovered by Brown at the Cambridge 9-yard line. The turnover led to a 5-yard touchdown from Fante to put the Redskins on the board. The extra point was blocked.

Creek looked to extend its lead later in the first but a holding penalty brought back a touchdown and Mazar was intercepted by Blake Brumfield on the next play. Brumfield paced the Bobcats’ defense with a pair of interceptions.

“Our defense did a phenomenal job,” Lowery said. “Coach (Johnny) Jones did his job and I told the kids ‘it’s my fault, offensively, I take the blame for this loss.'”

On the first play of Cambridge’s second quarter drive, Lucas jumped in front of a Moore pass to set Creek up with great field position once again at the Bobcats’ 45-yard line.

The Cambridge defense had the Redskins stopped, but a horse collar penalty on third down kept the drive alive. Mazar took advantage, racing in for a five yard score. He also ran in the two-point conversion for a 14-0 cushion — a score that held up until halftime.

Cambridge continued its three-and-out trend on its first drive of the third, and Creek set up shop in enemy territory at the 39-yard line. Mazar struggled to handle the snap from shotgun but quickly scooped the ball off the grass and rumbled down the sideline for a 23-yard score and a 21-0 advantage.

The Redskins added the finishing touches when a muffed punt put them in business at the Cambridge 21. Moments later, Mazar dazzled the crowd with his third rushing score of the contest.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound signal caller ran for 52 yards on 18 carries. Fante supplied 41 yards on the ground, and Brandon Fleming added 42 all-purpose yards (21 rushing, 21 receiving).

Connor’s squad tallied 119 yards on the ground and a total of 159 yards.

The Redskins head to East Liverpool next Friday.

Indian Creek 27, Cambridge 0

Indian Creek 6-8-7-6 — 27

Cambridge 0-0-0-0 — 0

I — Fante 5 run (kick failed), 8:24

I — Mazar 5 run (Mazar run), 4:16

I — Mazar 23 run (Hiles kick), 4:56

I — Mazar 7 run (kick failed), 8:25

Rushing: Indian Creek 38-119-4td (Mazar 18-52-3td, Fante 10-41-td, Fleming 1-21, Schaefer 3-1, Giusto 3-(-1), Pietro 1-5, Robinson 2-(-1); Cambridge 29-(-13) (Snyder 4-13, Jeffrey 7-4, Peyton 2-0, Mobelini 4-5, Moore 9-(-29), Whaley 1-(-2), Scottsberry 1-12, Saft 1-6, Team 1-(-22).

Passing: Indian Creek 6-11-40-2x (all by Mazar); Cambridge 4-8-59-x (all by C. Moore).

Receiving: Indian Creek 6-40 (Fenske 1-14, Fleming 4-21, Giusto 1-5); Cambridge 4-59 (Best 2-27, Whaley 1-7, D. Moore 1-25).

First Downs: Indian Creek 12; Cambridge 5.

Penalties: Indian Creek 6-70; Cambridge 8-55.

Fumbles-Lost: Indian Creek 1-0; Cambridge 3-4.