With a strong defense, CHS gets first football win

Cleveland well out in front (Photo courtesy Patrick Kirk)

By Jade Witmer and Jeremiah David, Chronicle Staff

CLAYTON - An army of Cleveland blue marched onto the freshly cut field with the stadium lights leading the way Friday night, searching for the first football win in the history of Cleveland High School. The original Cleveland School did not have a football team, so there were several alumni in the crowd to witness this spectacle. Their opponent was the other new guy on the block – the Pirates of Corinth Holders High School. End result - a strong Ram defense harried the Pirates and helped set up a 41-20 Cleveland victory.

This was Cleveland High School’s first home game of the season, and everyone had high expectations for the upcoming season. “I feel pretty good about this season,” said Cleveland defensive lineman Thomas Morris, “I feel like this is great opportunity to succeed.”

Michael Wooten, a member of the Johnston County School Board, said, "It is the beginning of a new era in Johnston County and there's nothing like having a county rival." School superintendent Ed Croom shared the sentiment, saying that these two brand new schools was "wonderful and exciting for the county."

Before the game began, head coach Marc Morris was asked about what he was looking forward to seeing most out of his team. "I just want to see them play hard and to compete." These players gave Coach Morris exactly what he wanted and more.

The game didn’t quite start off like Cleveland would have liked when Pirate runningback Tori Carmichael put the first ever points on the Cleveland Stadium scoreboard by scoring a first quarter touchdown and the ensuing two-point conversion. The Rams quickly answered back with a TD run of their own, when Isaac Martin scampered in from nine yards out. The score was set up by a 40-yard pass from quarterback Tre Joyner to receiver Alex Swain. The two point conversion was good and the score was tied at 8 apiece.

Corinth Holders fought back quickly with a second quarter 44-yard rush by Tori Carmichael, who was stopped by defensive back Sam Allen. This led to another touchdown for the Pirates, but the Rams defense stopped the two point conversion. The score was now 14-8 Corinth Holders.

The Rams offense had difficulty responding on the next possession. Joyner was sacked for a loss of 6 yards and was forced to punt. What the offense couldn’t do, the Cleveland defense made up for. During the next Pirate possession, defensive lineman Matthew Ricard intercepted Corinth QB Kenneth Collins and ran the ball down to Corinth 3-yard line – setting up another Martin touchdown, along with a two-point conversion pass from Joyner to Donqua Williams. The Rams took the lead for the first time ever in Cleveland Stadium 16-14. The Pirates were unable to score again before halftime, and this was just the beginning of the excitement yet to come.

The Pirates couldn’t move the chains on their first possession of the second half and had to punt. Cleveland quickly put more points on the board with a touchdown run by Tre Joyner, set up by a Donqua Williams 30-yard carry. Corinth’s defense stepped up and prevented the two point conversion, leaving the score 22-14.

The Pirates stepped back out onto the field, hoping that they could find a way into the Cleveland end zone. They came up short when Collins was sacked and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Cleveland defensive lineman Brandon Cooley. The Rams used this to their advantage and once again found the back of the end zone, but Joyner’s PAT attempt bounced off of the left upright. Cleveland settled for six more points added to their total, giving them a 28-14 lead. Once again, the Rams defense proved to be unstoppable in the second half by forcing Corinth to a three-and-out. Joyner then found paydirt for a second time, throwing a 27-yard TD reception to Xavier McLamb. With the point after successful, the score was 35-14 Cleveland.

The Pirates continued to fight back. They got a first down on their next possession, with a 14-yard carry by Collin Ray. The Pirates were in the red zone and threatened the Cleveland defense, but not well enough. Corinth fumbled the ball for their third turnover on the night, set up by a vicious hit by linebacker Chanse Wallace. Backed up almost into their own end zone, Joyner found wide receiver Andrew Daughtry for a 99-yd touchdown strike. This was the longest pass play in Cleveland school history, and will probably stand for a very long time. That touchdown made it 41-14 Cleveland. Corinth Holders scored a touchdown with no time remaining on the clock, leaving the final score 41-20.

The Cleveland army won their first battle, but will they continue to win the war?