CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Scott Cummings, introduced Tuesday night to Cleveland High School fans as their new football coach, got a glimpse of the fierce rivalries within Bradley County that he’ll stepping into.
The host Blue Raiders — the meet was held at Cleveland Middle — twice jumped ahead of visiting Bradley Central, establishing leads of seven and six points. Then, though, it was the Bears’ awesome foursome in the lower weights that first erased the lead and then slit a Cleveland win streak that had reached more than a dozen over the last three seasons.
Few thought the Bears, though they were third-ranked and a notch ahead of Cleveland in the latest Tennessee coaches’ poll, would win. They did, however, posting a 39-27 decision and handing coach Ben Smith his first victory over the Blue Raiders. It also was the initial loss to the rivals in Jake Yost’s tenure at Cleveland.
“I knew we would catch them at some point. It’s just a bit sooner than I thought it would happen,” Smith said. “But this is bigger for our program than for me. Our kids needed to believe they could beat Cleveland, just like Cleveland needed to know four years ago that they could beat us.”
This is just round one of what could be at least two more meetings.