CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Early in the second quarter of its football game Friday night at Cleveland High School, Red Bank decided to make a change in its attack. It was a change that suited running back Randall Lee just fine.
Lee finished with 174 yards, and the Red Bank defense shut down the Blue Raiders. The combination led the Lions to a 31-7 victory at Raider Field – their seventh in a row in the series – spoiling Cleveland’s homecoming.
The Raiders (3-2) played the game without leading rusher Jamarcus Mobley, who was held out as a precautionary measure while an investigation looms about his eligibility. Cleveland’s troubles grew larger when quarterback Chad Voytik was taken off in an ambulance. He will miss the rest of the season with a dislocated finger.
Coach E.K. Slaughter called the injury the “worst hand injury I’ve ever seen.
“We lost more than a game out there,” Slaughter noted. “The guys dealt with a lot of adversity today. They played hard, but you can’t beat a team by making mental mistakes.”
Red Bank coach Tim Daniels wasn’t pleased when Cleveland marched downfield on the first drive of the game, which was capped off by a 2-yard run by Voytik. Cleveland then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff.
“I really believed it was going to be a long night, but once we settled into the game, I felt we were more physical,” Daniels said.
The Lions proceeded to stop the Raiders, then scored on a 13-yard pass from Niquia McDuffie to Clay. A 20-yard run by Lee two possessions later gave Red Bank the lead.
“There was never a conversation on the sideline, but Coach just started giving me the ball every play,” Lee said. “The lineman did a great job; I just ran behind them.”
When Lee wasn’t beating Cleveland on the ground, McDuffie was doing so through the air. He finished with 124 yards passing and two touchdowns while adding a score on the ground.
The Lions limited Cleveland to 181 yards after the first drive, picking off two passes – one by Clay that he returned 65 yards for a touchdown – and deflecting others. Voytik was 14-for-31 prior to the injury, with 131 yards passing and 76 on the ground.
“I’ve thought we were kind of close, playing better and never giving up,” Daniels said. “The guys have had a great attitude since January. They’ve grown up and they beat a good team tonight.
“Once we got that touchdown, it took the pressure off us and we gained confidence.”
Freshman quarterback Austin Herink will lead the offense the rest of the season for Cleveland, which visits Cookeville next week.
“Life is never easy and it’s never fair,” Slaughter said. “We’re just going to have to learn to fight through it.”