CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Raekwon Bunion had waited three weeks for his first action of the football season. After a long battle with a broken hand, he was unleashed Friday night — and at a perfect time for Cleveland.
Bunion won a spectacular running back battle with McMinn County’s D.J. Kimpson on the scoreboard, as the Blue Raiders held on to win 23-21 in a District 5-AAA game at Raider Field.
Kimpson finished with 213 yards to Bunion’s 204, and each had three touchdowns.
“I missed being on the team, and I had to help us get a win tonight,” Bunion said. “I had a lot of emotions coming in; the past two games, we didn’t have any hype out there, so I had to try and give us a lot. I knew that, from my first run, it would help turn up the team.”
His three touchdowns Friday were two more than he had in all of 2013, when he rushed for 794 yards. He admitted he had a “lot of mistakes” last year.