CLEELAND, Tenn --For 365 days the Blue Raiders looked at the circle on their calendar with one goal in mind, and that was to avenge last year's 20-14 loss to Walker Valley.
The early going was all Cleveland as the Raiders ran up a 22-0 first quarter score before the Mustangs powered back to cut the margin to 22-20 at halftime.
Cleveland (3-0) won the third quarter 8-3 to lead 30-23 after 36 minutes before taking command in the final quarter with 21 points while holding the Mustangs (2-1) scoreless to finish the night with a 51-23 victory.
“Honestly, we've been waiting 365 days after last year,” said Cleveland second-year head coach Chandler Tygard. “We had similar penalties and similar issues. But, we figured out a way to get it done this time. We'll be happy tonight.”
The Raiders will be at home again next week as they host the Farragut Admirals at Benny Monroe Stadium.
Cleveland's stout defense shut down the strong Walker Valley running game holding the Mustang to just 61 yards on the ground. The Raiders bullied the Herd for 184 yards rushing led by Isaiah Davis with 130 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown that helped put the Raiders out front 8-0 after a 2-point conversion in the first quarter.
Brayden Carroll's 2-yard run made it 15-0. Cleveland quarterback Chase Stephens connected with Jay'un Smith for 11 yards with just over two minutes left in the first quarter to put Cleveland out front 22-0.
After punting on their first four possessions of the first half, Walker Valley head coach Drew Akins calmed the Herd enough to break the shutout with a 66-yard, four play quick strike. Mustangs' quarterback Dosen Stum found a wide open Tate Rountree for a 32 yard TD on a double reverse Flea Flicker that cut the score to 22-7 after the point after.
Walker Valley's Aiden Burns snapped up a Cleveland dropped lateral pass and scampered 43 yards to cut the score to 22-13 with 5:37 left in the first half after a missed PAT.
With time winding down in the first half, Spencer Makuch tightened the score even more as Walker Valley's Michael Wood picked off a Cleveland pass setting up the Mustangs at the Raiders' 32-yard line. Two plays later, Makuch finished off the half with a 17 yard score that made it a 22-20 game at halftime.
“We were able to come back. The way we came back in the second quarter after a rough start kind of showed our willingness to keep playing,” said Akins. “The (second half) sequence where we didn't get a touchdown and they did kind of dictated the rest of the ballgame.”
Walker Valley opened the second half on its own 46 after forcing a Cleveland punt and moved to the 6-yard line before settling on a 22-yard Noah Campbell field that gave the Mustangs a 23-22 lead.
“We gave it to them, honestly. We started out hot exactly as we thought we would and scored 22 points. Then we started throwing the ball to the other team. Anytime you have three turnovers in a half, and we had 11 penalties in the first half for about a hundred yards, you shouldn't be winning much less be in the ballgame,” Tygard said of the Raiders' first half performance. “We settled down at halftime. We just kind of said they haven't stopped us, we stopped ourselves. That's been our mantra the whole season; Nobody can beat Cleveland, but Cleveland. If we're not getting penalties and turning the ball over we can be pretty special and 29 unanswered points was the difference.”
The momentum quickly shifted in favor of the Blue Raiders early in the second half as they made short work of their next possession with a 43 yard TD toss from Stephens to Smith that push back out front for good.
“I figure it was two plays. We didn't score a touchdown and ended up kicking a field goal then they hit a big post for a touchdown. From that point forward they had all the momentum,” Akins stated. “They got us out of our game plan, get heavy, run the ball. When you get down two scores in the fourth quarter you can't do that anymore. We're better than the scoreboard shows, but in the end that's what the scoreboard shows. That's who we are. The scoreboard tells the truth and we've got to make sure we understand that. We've got to go back and get better.”
A blocked punt aided by a pair of face mask penalties on the Mustangs made it easy for the Blue Raiders to jump out front 37-23 on an 11-yard run by Carroll to open the fourth quarter. A Walker Valley fumble on fourth down recovered by Cleveland set the Raiders up for another score with Carroll once again taking the honors from 3 yards out for a 44-23 lead.
Kason McGowan capped the scoring for the Raiders with a 54 yard hookup with Boyd to close out the 51-23 win.
“They are an outstanding football team. They are explosive. They can make explosive plays all over the field,” said Akins. “The fact we were in that game showed we have the pieces to do everything we want to do. We can't let that momentum get away and us not be able to get it back under control.”
“We settled down and focused on ourselves. We quit worrying about what they're doing or what they're saying or any of that. We told them to worry about us and do our job one play at a time. It's a cliché, but when chaos is going on around you it goes back to your training. One play at a time and they did that,” Tygard said. “It started on defense. They had some good plays. AJ Westfield is the the best defensive tackle in the state as a junior. He needs to be a household name. We've got good players.”
SUMMARY
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WALKER VALLEY
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0
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20
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3
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0
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--23
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|
CLEVELAND
|
22
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0
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8
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21
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-- 51
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CLE — Isaiah Davis 8 run (Davis run), 9:50
CLE — Brayden Carroll 2 run (Sloan Bolanos kick), 7:17
CLE — Jay'un Smith 11 pass from Chase Stephens (Bolanos kick), 2:10
Second Quarter
WV — Tate Rountree 31 pass from Dosen Stum (Noah Campbell kick), 6:27
WV — Aiden Burns 43 fumble recovery (kick failed), 5:37
WV — Spencer Makuch 17 run (Campbell kick), 3:50
Third Quarter
WV — Campbell 22 field goal, 2:50
CLE — Smith 43 pass from Stephens (Sawyer Boyd run), 1:38
Fourth Quarter
CLE — Carroll 11 run (Bolanos kick), 11:01
CLE — Carroll 7 run (Bolanos kick), 8:28
CLE — Boyd 54 pass from Stephens (Bolanos kick), 5:04
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STATS
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WV
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CLE
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|
First Downs
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10
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21
|
|
Rushes-Yards
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19-61
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37-184
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|
Passing Yards
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91
|
272
|
|
Total yards
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152
|
456
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Passing (Comp-Att-Int)
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8-15-0
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22-30-2
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Penalties-Yards
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6-40
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15-183
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Punts-Average
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8-30.0
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3-29.0
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|
Fumbles-Lost
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1-1
|
2-1
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HIGHLIGHTS
Rushing: Javan Hall 9-41, Makuch 9-22, Roman Eulo 5-8 (WV); Davis 21-130, Gage Parker 7-31, Carroll 5-20 (C).
Passing: Stum 8-15-91 (WV); Kason McGowan 15-22-202, Stephens 15-10-70 (C).
Receiving: Rountree 3-43, Eulo 1-18, Makuch 2-18 (WV); Boyd 4-85, Carroll 6-76, Smith 2-42, Reggie Hubbard III 5-32, Trent Collins 2-26, Isaiah Davis 3-11 (C).
Records: Walker Valley 2-1, Cleveland 3-0.
(Contact Richard Roberts at richardvol55@yahoo.com)