Very rarely does a team turn the ball over five times in a game and still win by 29 points. Then again, when its running back rushes for 275 yards and four touchdowns, it’s quite a possibility.

Such was the case for Middle Creek Friday as the Mustangs defeated Panther Creek 41-12 in the last game of the regular season.

After a defensive first half in which Middle Creek (6-5, 6-1) turned the ball over four times, including two interceptions from quarterback Brett Burnette, the Mustangs led only 6-0 going into halftime.

“They’ve got a young team,” Middle Creek coach Sean Crocker said of the Catamounts (1-10, 0-7). “And luckily our defense was able to hold them when we turned it over. I lost count of the turnovers, but against a more veteran team with seniors we probably don’t get away with that. We got lucky tonight. You’ve got to have a little bit of that.”

It wasn’t long after halftime that the defensive effort turned into offensive production, and Middle Creek running back Nate Harris took over.

“At halftime we got fired up,” Harris said. “We weren’t underestimating Panther Creek at all, but we knew we were the better team and that we should have been playing better than we did in the first half. It was our last regular-season game and we wanted that title. We kind of had that on our mind coming in and the seniors stepped up.”

Harris scored the first three touchdowns of the game and four total on touchdown runs for 41, 56, 10 and 70 yards, respectively.

“The offensive line was working great the entire game,” Harris said. “There was one play that was open, and we just ran it a couple times in a row. They’re going to put the load on my shoulders, and I’ll be glad to take it.”

Harris, nicknamed “Shake-n-Nate” by family and teammates, rushed for over 200 yards for the second straight week and has totaled more than 1,200 yards on the ground this season.

“I can’t say enough good things about Nate,” Crocker said. “He worked so hard in the offseason. He rallies the guys and some of the success that Nate’s been having is just a testament to how hard he works. Every time he takes the field he looks to carry the team on his back.”

For Middle Creek the win clinched a three-way tie for first place in the Tri-Eight with Athens Drive and Fuquay-Varina.

After starting the season with four straight losses, the Mustangs came together and built confidence with each conference win.

“Coming into the year we thought we had a good team,” Crocker said. “We had a lot of good athletes, a lot of seniors. But we had to really mold the group together to see what we had. The offense came together first, and the defense struggled a little bit, but they came together and at the right time. In some of the early games they had carried us through. And we believed that we could get it done. So for these guys to earn a share of the conference championship is a huge moment for Middle Creek football, especially in our fifth year.”

And with a share of the conference title, and wins over teams like Athens Drive, who Crocker said “set the bar” for the area, Middle Creek feels confident it can win heading into the state playoffs.

“Some of the competition we’ve played and we’ve done well against I think gives us the opportunity and the confidence that there’s not a lot of teams in the state that we can’t step on the field with and at least have a chance,” Crocker said. “I think our group really believes we can play with anybody.”