Cleveland put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They pulled ahead with a 29-28 photo finish over the Garner Trojans. Given the Rams' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked tenth, while the Trojans are ranked 51st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jackson Byrd was his usual excellent self, throwing for 343 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.1 yards per attempt. Deangelo Ruffin Jr also helped out as he racked up 113 receiving yards.
Cleveland didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Braxton Lowe, Theron Batiste, and Sawyer Lowe picked up one apiece. Sawyer is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made eight or more in the last 22 games he's played dating back to last season. Darrell Herriott was another major factor on D, making ten total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Garner's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Devyn Grant, who rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown, and also picked up 52 receiving yards.
Cleveland pushed their record up to 9-0 with the victory, which was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Garner, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-3.
Cleveland has already played their next match, a 37-35 win against Clayton on the 1st. As for Garner, they also didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next matchup, a 42-27 victory against Corinth Holders on the 1st.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
