CARY- Things were quiet in the stands and on the sidelines for most of the opening quarter of Middle Creek's season finale. It hardly seemed like the Mustangs were a team just a win away from playoff consideration. Panther Creek, a team playing for pride only, led 7-0 as the seconds ticked away in the first quarter.

But a 48-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Garrett Leatham to Tre' Nesbitt awoke the slumbering Mustangs, giving them a much-needed jolt and the ball at the 1-yard line with seven seconds left in the first quarter.

It was a spark that led to the 24-14 win, prompting a three-way tie for third in the Tri-Eight conference.

"We came out slow. I think a lot of that had to do with Panther Creek. They came out ready to play," Middle Creek coach Sean Crocker said. "They hit us hard, they were running the ball well and made some key adjustments there early."

Leatham capped the drive off with a 2-yard run on the second play of the second quarter, tying the game at 7-7.

When the Mustangs got the ball back six minutes later after a 13-play drive stalled for Panther Creek, they marched 80 yards in seven plays, scoring on a 16-yard, Leatham-to-Nesbitt strike.

From 12 yards out, Leatham found Nesbitt once again in the end zone on the Mustangs' first drive in the second half to open the lead to a 21-7 margin.

The Mustangs led by as much as 24-7 before giving up the Catamounts' final touchdown with 4:05 left.

With Cary's loss to Fuquay-Varina and Athens Drive's win over Green Hope, Middle Creek finds its playoff hopes resting on the luck of the draw. A draw held at Green Hope High School following the game will determine who gets the third automatic bid from the conference, and who will be seeded fourth and fifth as playoff brackets are announced tomorrow.

Crocker's team won a draw last year for first place in the conference, when the Mustangs finished 6-1 in the conference yet were 6-5 overall. He said he hopes the luck rolls over into this year, but feels he has a playoff team nonetheless.

"I like to think this is a playoff team. We're just a little better than our record shows. We had a bad stretch there. We played some good teams and they played us well. I think we're a playoff-caliber team and it'll depend what happens around the state whether we'll get in," Crocker said.

"You always want to control your own destiny. I don't know what happened with Cary and Fuquay and Athens and Green Hope but we were in the same position last year for the conference championship and it worked out."