Blue Raiders knock off third-ranked Owls, 14-7

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 10/23/15. Cleveland High School's Romeo Wykle (2) tries to shake Ooltewah High School's Adrian Hall (21) while playing at the Raiders' Benny Monroe Stadium on Friday, October 23, 2015.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 10/23/15. Cleveland High School's Romeo Wykle (2) tries to shake Ooltewah High School's Adrian Hall (21) while playing at the Raiders' Benny Monroe Stadium on Friday, October 23, 2015.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - As The Blackeyed Peas' "Tonight's gonna be a good night" blared over the public-address system, and what felt like the entire Cleveland High School cheering section surrounded the players, Scott Cummings stood back and let his young Blue Raiders football team soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the moment before he spoke.

The first-year Cleveland coach had been looking for a win to prove to the Raiders that they were turning the corner and gaining an identity, and that's just what happened at Benny Monroe Stadium. The Blue Raiders stunned third-ranked Ooltewah 14-7 for a huge Region 4-5A upset.

"I've been telling our kids all year to just keep working and good things were going to happen for us," said Cummings, who came to Cleveland after a successful stint at Knoxville West that included a state championship last season. "We've got more raw talent on this team than I've had just about anywhere, but we're so young and they just didn't know how to put it together.

"For the first time all season I thought we played for each other, as a team, instead of as individuals, and I'm so proud of these kids and happy for them."

The Cleveland defense was the definition of bend but don't break throughout the night as Ooltewah drove into Blue Raiders territory on its first five possessions but came away empty. The Owls (7-2, 4-1) moved inside the Cleveland 10 twice without scoring, reaching the 3 on a first-half series and the 6 midway through the fourth quarter before turning the ball over on downs once and having a desperation fourth-down pass into the end zone intercepted.

Ooltewah managed just 56 rushing yards and lost two fumbles and must wait a week before trying to secure the region title. Cleveland remains alive for a playoff spot with a road game at White County coming up.

"I thought they did a great job defensively," Owls coach Mac Bryan said. "We got down there several times and came away empty, just like in the loss to Riverdale earlier this year, and that's frustrating, but you have to give them credit for making the stops."

Ooltewah starting quarterback London Elrod left early in the third quarter with an injury. He had thrown for 159 yards. His replacement, Collin Thurman, was 5-for-14 for 84 passing yards with an interception.

Cleveland, which had been outscored 75-7 the previous two weeks, scored first, set up by a muffed punt that was recovered at the Ooltewah 6. It took four plays before quarterback JaShawn Hill sneaked across the goal line from 1 yard away.

The Blue Raiders (4-5, 2-3) added to their lead in dramatic fashion just nine seconds before halftime, when Hill lofted a high spiral toward the end zone that was snagged one-handed by fellow junior Syler Davis. After securing the ball against his body, Davis fell across the goal line for the 38-yard scoring connection that capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive and gave Cleveland a 14-0 advantage.

"That was huge for our confidence, to have a two-score lead going into the second half," said Davis, who finished with three catches for 89 yards. "It was just reaction, really. I saw the ball and stumbled, but I reached out my hand and it stuck.

"There's no telling what a win like this could do for us as a team, because now we believe we can play with anybody."

Ooltewah pulled within one score when Rashun Freeman returned a punt 48 yards to the Raiders' 1, then scored two plays later with 4:39 remaining.

But Cleveland put the game away with an 11-play drive featuring 10 runs by Hill for 42 yards and most importantly three first downs that forced Ooltewah to burn all its timeouts and then run out the clock. Hill finished with 51 rushing yards on 20 tough carries and threw for 178 yards.

"I was in a league with Maryville for 13 years, but that Ooltewah defense ranks up there with the best I've seen, so for us to get a win like this is just huge," Cummings said. "Our defense played awfully good, too.

"We had a lot of kids step up and make plays for us on both sides of the ball, and I just want to let them enjoy this one before we get ready for another big one."

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.

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