After a first half that was a punting exhibition interrupted by a two-minute scoring flurry for Cleveland, the Blue Raiders and host Soddy-Daisy put together a thrilling final two quarters Friday night.
The visitors survived the Trojans’ last-second rally to win 21-14, taking both teams to 2-2.
Cleveland appeared to have a victory sealed after stopping Soddy-Daisy on fourth-and-goal with less than a minute to play, but a fumble with 38 seconds remaining made for a wild finish. Trojans quarterback Isaac Barnes just missed on two passes into the end zone with less than 10 seconds remaining.
“We did a lot of good things tonight, but when you’ve got a chance to close the game out, you’ve got to close the game out the right way,” first-year Cleveland coach Marty Wheeler said after the game.
Both teams struggled to move the ball in the first quarter, with each punting twice and Soddy-Daisy doing so a third time to open the second quarter.