CARY — The 2009 version of the “Battle of the Creeks” was a tale of two halves. Panther Creek capitalized on Middle Creek miscues to take an early lead in the first half, while the Mustangs forced the Catamounts to turn the ball over five times in the second half en route to a 31-17 road win Friday night.

After a Middle Creek fumble on the first play of the game, Panther Creek kicker Walker Cruikshank's 26-yard field goal gave the Catamounts an early 3-0 lead.

Neither team put another point on the scoreboard until the second quarter when Mustangs quarterback Garrett Leatham connected with Devonte Knox for a 41-yard score to put Middle Creek on top 7-3.

The lead would change hands twice more before the half.

Panther Creek reclaimed its three point advantage when Isaiah Johnson picked off a Leatham screen pass and took it 62 yards for a touchdown midway through the quarter. The Mustangs answered with Leatham's second touchdown pass of the first half, this time to Kevin Jones from 43 yards out. Jones' piled up a game-high 123 yards on six receptions – one of three Mustangs receivers to break the 100-yard mark in the game.

Middle Creek led 14-10 with 1:06 remaining in the second quarter when the Catamounts' offense took over, but it didn't go quietly into the break. Junior quarterback Kameron Bryant led his unit down the field and found tight end Daniel Beilinson open in the end zone for a 29-yard score with just 4.3 seconds left to take a 17-14 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Panther Creek's offense became a turnover machine. The Mustangs picked off four Bryant passes and outscored the Catamounts 17-0 in the final two quarters.

Early in the third, Leatham again hooked up with Knox for a touchdown to swing the advantage back to Middle Creek – 21-17. Knox finished with nine catches for 109 yards and two scores.

Kicker Matt Frongello pushed the Mustangs' lead to 10 with a 35-yard field goal with 2:47 left in the quarter.

Middle Creek (8-1, 6-0) then took advantage of a Panther Creek (4-5, 2-4) fumble on the ensuing kickoff as Leatham found Jon Moore open in the corner of the end zone just 14 seconds later. Leatham's fourth touchdown pass of the game gave the Mustangs a 14-point lead, which they would not relinquish.

Leatham was as accurate and efficient as ever, completing 20 of 32 passes for 344 yards on the night.

The Catamounts had their chances in the fourth quarter, but continued to stall on offense – mostly due to turnovers. Middle Creek linebacker T.J. Weinberg's interception with 1:49 left in the game extinguished Panther Creek's final possession and sealed the victory.

The Mustangs' win sets up a showdown next Friday with Fuquay-Varina, who slipped past surging Athens Drive 35-27 Friday. The Bengals will roll into Middle Creek High School at 8-1 overall and 5-1 in Tri-Nine play, just one game back in the standings.

Should Middle Creek win, it would clinch the outright conference championship with one week remaining. If Fuquay wins, a three-way tie for conference championship between Fuquay, Middle Creek and Holly Springs is on the table.