It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Cleveland had no problem doing just that on Friday. They skirted past the Heritage Huskies 24-21. The 24-point effort marked the Rams' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Cleveland's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jackson Byrd led the charge by throwing for 236 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 51 yards and a touchdown. A healthy portion of Byrd's aerial production (133 yards to be exact) went to Malachi Thomas.
Cleveland didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Porter Bennett and Theron Batiste. Batiste has been hot , having also posted at least one defended passe the last six times he's played. Another thorn in Heritage's side was Cameron Melvin, who picked up a sack and made seven total tackles (3.0 for loss).
When it comes to explaining why Heritage lost, don't look at LaDainian Person. Despite the final result, he picked up 84 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 93 yards. Person showed off some serious burst, cutting upfield on a catch for 65 yards. Dylan Schmitt was another key player, throwing for 240 yards and three touchdowns.
The win for Cleveland keeps them at an undefeated 11-0. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 38.5 points per game. As for Heritage, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 2-9.
Cleveland has already played their next game, a 21-3 victory against Ashley on the 22nd. Heritage does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
