McMinn County controls ball, smothers Cleveland, 28-0 [photos]

McMinn's Xayvier Beckingham (44) recovers a fumble as Cleveland's Patrick Dale (72) goes over the back.
McMinn's Xayvier Beckingham (44) recovers a fumble as Cleveland's Patrick Dale (72) goes over the back.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - It was a statement from the opening drive.

McMinn County came into Friday night's Region 4-5A showdown at Benny Monroe Stadium with a clear intention that it was going to be the more physical team.

After setting the tone with a 15-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to open the game, the Cherokees continued to dominate at the line of scrimmage, claiming a convincing 28-0 win over the Blue Raiders.

On that opening possession, McMinn County converted three fourth downs, including a 3-yard pass from Bradley Hayes to Colin Hockman. That was the only pass after 14 consecutive runs.

"That first drive was huge. It was exactly what we had to do to win this game," said Cherokees coach Bo Cagle, whose team converted four of five fourth-down attempts into firsts. "We had to take some chances, convert some fourth downs and run the clock to keep the ball out of their hands, and that's just what we did.

"The biggest thing is we scored touchdowns when we had chances to finish drives."

McMinn County (4-1, 2-0) used seven runners to roll up 261 rushing yards and outgained Cleveland 322-41 in total yards, limiting the Blue Raiders to 1.1 yard per play.

Of even more concern than the second straight loss for Cleveland after such a promising start to the season is the sudden uncertainty at quarterback. After losing senior starter Dallas McCrary a week earlier to a torn ACL, backup JaShawn Hill left Friday's game after the Blue Raiders' first offensive play with a leg injury.

Incredibly, third-team sophomore Jackson Moore left the game late in the fourth quarter with what also appeared to be a leg injury, and Cleveland coach Scott Cummings said afterward both Hill and Moore may have suffered knee ligament damage that could sideline them.

"I've never experienced anything like this in all my years," Cummings said. "We're going through some trials right now that nobody could've anticipated. I feel for our kids. They're hurting and I don't really have the answers right now. The only way we're going to get through this is together.

"As far as the game, we couldn't get them off the field in the first half. We never had the ball."

By halftime McMinn County had ran 35 offensive plays to Cleveland's eight and the Cherokees had a 14-0 lead, with their second TD coming on a Julion Santos 5-yard run that followed a fumble recovery at the 7.

McMinn County then opened the third quarter with a six-play, 52-yard scoring drive, capped by Tabre Abernathy's 6-yard TD run.

Cleveland (3-2, 1-1) had two scoring threats late in the third but missed a 26-yard field-goal try and was held on downs at the Cherokees' 11.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.

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