SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. - Sevier County High School has been part of plenty of lopsided football games, but Friday night at Hardin-Robinson field, the Smoky Bears found themselves on the wrong end of a blowout.
Cleveland connected on 10 plays of over 20 yards in a 51-20 win.
"It's not acceptable, the way we played tonight," Sevier County coach Tony Lingenfelter said.
"It was just poor execution on both sides of the ball. We were lucky to hold them to 51 points. They probably should have had that in the first half if not for the turnovers."
The rout started on the third play of the game. Blue Raiders running back Micaleous Elder took the inside handoff on third-and-1 and raced 71 yards to the end zone.
Elder scored again six minutes later on a 7-yard run, putting Cleveland up 14-0.
Scott Cummings, just two years removed from coaching Knoxville West to the Class 5A state title, may be building another power with Cleveland.
"We know we have some very explosive players and a lot of talent," Cummings said. "We're still growing up, and that's part of it. We've got to be more consistent. We'll learn from this and get better from it. You've got to be happy to ever come out of Sevier County with a win."
The Blue Raiders went up 22-0 with a 24-yard run from Keegan Jones. Jones rushed seven times for 95 yards. Elder carried the ball just five times but gained 107 yards.
The Smoky Bears were able to finally get their offense moving before halftime, with Jeffrey Bersch taking the ball in from the 1-yard line. The momentum disappeared when Cleveland's Dylan Jones stepped in front of a pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the first half. The Blue Raiders led 31-6.
Gustavo Osorio had 17 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown for Sevier County.