ATWATER -- Just when it appeared the Atwater defense had finally been on the field one series too long on Friday night, it gave the Falcons one last desperate hope to cling to.
Up 28-22 with 3 minutes, 36 seconds to play, Inderkum began marching at its own 17-yard line.
Three quick first downs moved the ball to the Atwater 35-yard line and forced the Falcons to use all three of their time outs.
All running back D.J. Myart (15 carries for 111 yards) had to do was pick up four more yards on a third-down run and the Tigers could run out the clock. The junior came around on a counter and probably had the first down, but was stripped of the ball on the play.
Atwater's Shane Lambert picked the fumble up and returned it to the Atwater 49, giving the team new life with 1:15 to play.
Unfortunately, as it had all night, getting a first down proved trying for Atwater.
Dallas Hoofard got the call on a fourth-and-1 at the Tiger 42, but couldn't find a hole on the short side of the field. Myart atoned for his mistake, stopping Hoofard for no gain and preserving Inderkum's 28-22 victory at Falcon Field.
"We thought they might come up and play it a little soft, thinking pass," Falcons head coach Bob Valladao said. "They did a good job defending it."
That was pretty much the case for the entire game as Atwater (2-2) sputtered against the speed of the Tigers' defense.
The Falcon defense and special teams remarkably kept them in the the game despite the Atwater offense only accumulating 70 yards of total offense through the first three quarters.
Marvin Gann got the scoring started by returning a punt 60 yards for a touchdown on the Falcons' opening possession of the game.
John Montes answered for Inderkum (3-1) with an 11-yard touchdown catch and then TD runs of 6 and 63 yards to take a 21-7 lead.
Atwater special teams kept things going with a 92-yard kickoff return for a score by Izaak Hurtado to make it 21-14 at the half.
"We felt OK at the half," Valladao said. "Defense and special teams were keeping us in it and we hoped the offense would get going."
It finally did in the fourth quarter.
Trevor Coleman tackled Myart in the end zone for a safety to cut the lead to 28-16 with just under six minutes to go.
The safety swung momentum Atwater's way, and the Falcons' offense finally took advantage, driving 60 yards in just over 2 minutes. Hoofard finished the drive with a 4-yard TD run.
Atwater tried to recover a pooch kick, but had to settle for pinning Inderkum deep on its side of the field.
Even forcing a fourth turnover wasn't enough to complete the comeback.
"When we got the fumble I thought the game was ours," said linebacker Cory Maxwell, who had three sacks in the game. "The defense got it done tonight, the offense just couldn't get going."
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