EVENSVILLE, Tenn. - The game was billed as a battle of speed vs. power.
Cleveland combined its speed with cohesion and just enough precision to battle back from a two-touchdown deficit for a 21-14 victory over Rhea County on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
"I knew it was going to be a battle of their toughness and how hard they play against our speed," Cleveland coach Scott Cummings said, "so then the question became did we have the fortitude to stay out of the valleys and not blame somebody else. We did some character things."
The Blue Raiders scored the winner with just nine seconds left on Kellye Cawood's second touchdown pass to Romeo Wykle.
"We were milking the clock, and then we got on the headsets and said, 'Let's take one shot with our stud,'" Cummings said.
While Cawood was 10-of-18 passing for 159 yards, Wykle had two catches - each for a score - totaling 85 yards. Wykle, a senior, also had an interception and a quarterback sack.
"Trust me, Kellye doesn't hurt for confidence," Cummings said. "He's a competitor, though."
Cleveland was able to run the ball, especially with Keegan Jones, who finished with 105 yards on 13 carries. It was his 28-yard touchdown run and Harshil Patel's point-after kick with 5:52 left that allowed the Blue Raiders to tie the Eagles.
"He was a little banged up in the preseason, so we didn't get him a lot of carries, but we told him tonight it was time now. You've got to go," Cummings praised.
With a strong first-half defensive showing - one that harried the fleet Cleveland receivers - Rhea forged a 7-0 lead, and that lead came - surprise, surprise - on a 36-yard pass from Eagles junior quarterback Zach Pemberton to a wide-open Jaden Austin.
Rhea then took the opening kick of the second half 69 yards in 11 plays and upped its lead on Christian Simon's 1-yard run.
Wykle then ignited his teammates and the Cleveland stands with his 63-yard reception before Jones' scoring run to set up the tie and his 22-yard reception from Cawood for the win.
While Simon had received much of the preseason hype surrounding Rhea, it was Gavin Morris who was the Eagles' leading rusher. He finished with 86 yards, Simon 57.
The Eagles were somewhat handicapped in the second half, although Rhea coach Mark Pemberton had nothing but praise for the Blue Raiders.
"They've improved a lot, but then Coach Cummings is a really good coach," he said.
Rhea lost starting wingback A.J. Velasco to a concussion and Pemberton, the coach's son, played more than a half on a badly sprained ankle.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him on Twitter @wardgossett.