Cloudland shuts down West Greene
Published 11:17 am Friday, August 30, 2024
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders Cloudland's Grayson Cole (0) rips off a 24-yard touchdown run with 3:19 left in the first quarter to give Cloudland an 8-0 lead.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders Kingston Cole (24) leads a group of Highlanders to West Greene quarterback Austin Franklin (2) for a 10-yard loss on a sack late in the first quarter.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders Grayson Cole (0) bulls his way into the end zone for his second touchdown of the first half, giving Cloudland a 14-0 lead with 4:09 left in the second quarter.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders Cloudland's Landon Barnette (8) leaps in front of a pass intended for West Greene's Austin Franklin (2) and returns the interception to the Buffaloes' 27-yard line late in the first half.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders Cloudland's Cam Peppers (13) signals a touchdown as Grayson Cole (0), somewhere in the pile, scores his third touchdown of the first half. This touchdown gave Cloudland a 22-0 lead that they would take into the locker room at the half.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders Cloudland's Grayson Cole (0) bowls over a West Greene defender as Dillon Teston (25) tackles him from behind early in the first quarter.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders Cloudland’s Kingston Cole (24) is dragged to the ground by West Greene safety Alex Johnson (3) after a short gain midway through the first quarter.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders The 'Landers' Gavyn Shell (25) and Cam Peppers (13) wrap up and sack West Greene running back Skylar Shelton (1) for a loss late in the first quarter.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders Cloudland’s Brandon Hughes (21) slings West Greene’s Braden McCamey (9) to the ground just as he reached the edge on a sweep early in the second quarter.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders The Highlanders' Bryson Peppers (56) and Tristan Hoss (55) collect a sack as they smother West Greene freshman quarterback Austin Brown (14) late in the first half.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders Cloudland's Grayson Cole (0) drives through the West Greene defense for a first down on a short-yardage play midway through the second quarter.
Star Correspondent/Larry N. Souders Cloudland's Landon Barnette (8) is forced out of bounds after ripping off a big run for a first down late in the second quarter.
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STAR CORRESPONDENT
GREENEVILLE – Sophomore running back Grayson Cole rushed for 200-plus yards and scored four touchdowns as Cloudland bounced back from a shutout loss to Happy Valley by shutting out West Greene at Jim Sauceman Field on Thursday night by a 30-0 tally.
Cole finished with 201 rushing yards on 28 carries, and the Highlanders’ defense held the Buffaloes to 47 yards rushing and collected four interceptions of West Greene quarterbacks.
“We played our hearts out this game,” Cole said. “We focused as hard as we could tonight. Last week our focus wasn’t there, and our heart wasn’t there, but tonight it was.”
The ‘Landers opened with a nice drive that ended with a fumble that West Greene fell on at the 18-yard line, but Cloudland (1-1 overall) shut down the Buffs’ offense from the start. On the second Cloudland possession, Cole capped it with a 26-yard touchdown run and added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 ‘Landers advantage.
“I’ll tell you what, these kids bounced back big time,” ‘Landers head coach Zac Benfield said. “We didn’t have a good game last week, but these kids showed maturity and focus. We didn’t have a good first five minutes, but they bounced back.”
The ‘Landers’ defense was ferocious in not allowing the Buffs to establish a running game, holding West Greene to 47 total rushing yards. Skylar Shelton was held to 31 yards on seven carries, and quarterback Austin Franklin completed one of eight passes for six yards with three interceptions.
Freshman Austin Brown was zero-for-four passing with two picks. Bryce Birchfield had two interceptions, with Kingston Cole having one, and Landon Barnette getting one also. Birchfield got the first pick off of Franklin, and the ‘Landers drove 38 yards on nine plays, overcoming three penalties along the way with Cole scoring on a 10-yard run for a 14-0 Cloudland lead.
That lead held through halftime, and Barnette picked off Franklin on the West Greene opening drive of the second half. From there, Cloudland scored on a five-yard run from Cole, with Barnette adding the deuce for a 22-0 ‘Landers lead.
The ‘Landers added the final scoring drive of the night early in the third quarter, with Cole scoring on a 13-yard run, and Birchfield added the extra two points to complete the 30-0 victory.
“I’ll tell you what, Larry Hernandez, our freshman center, stepped up big time,” Benfield said. “Braden Hughes at tight end stepped up big time, and as a team, we took a step in the right direction tonight.”
Cloudland 30, West Greene 0
Cloudland 8 14 8 0 – 30
West Greene 0 0 0 0 – 0
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
C – G. Cole 26 run (G. Cole run), 3:19
Second Quarter
C – G. Cole 10 run (run failed), 4:09
C – G. Cole 5 run (Barnette run), 1:28
Third Quarter
C – G. Cole 13 run (Birchfield run), 7:34
