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Star Correspondent

Sophomore Landon Barnette scored a pair of first-half touchdowns, with freshman Gavyn Shell adding one of his own, as the Highlanders finished the 2024 regular season at 4-4 (3-2 conference) with a 36-20 victory over Unaka at Goddard Field on Friday night.

The ’Landers got the ball first, and Barnette scored on the second play with a 60-yard dash. Braydon Hughes added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. After forcing a turnover on downs from the Rangers, the ’Landers drove to the Unaka 2-yard line, where Cloudland was stopped on downs.

Barnette capped the next Cloudland drive with a 6-yard run for a 14-0 lead after the two-point pass failed. In the second quarter, the ’Landers extended to a 22-0 lead on a 9-yard run from Shell, with Barnette adding the deuce. Barnette finished with 255 rushing yards on 34 carries and credited his line’s effort, saying, “They do such a great job, and I get the glory, but I always give it to them. The playoffs are always tough, and you have to go into them with mental and physical toughness.”

Unaka struck back quickly with Connor McKinney hitting Draedyn Freeman on a 55-yard scoring pass to make it 22-6 at halftime.

“Next week we’ll get Oliver Springs and try to prepare for that,” ’Landers head coach Zac Benfield said. “Landon is a great kid. He always plays hard, and he is a passionate kid. I’m always glad to see his hard work pay off for him.”

The second half opened with Unaka striking quickly on a 70-yard scoring pass from McKinney to Aston Fuller, cutting the Cloudland lead to 22-14 with a two-point pass from McKinney to Micah Gray.

Earlier, a holding call erased a 68-yard pass from McKinney to Freeman. In the fourth quarter, Jacob Stinnett scored on a 28-yard burst for a 28-14 ’Landers lead, but Unaka would not go quietly.

After a turnover on downs and two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Unaka, the ’Landers stood at the Rangers’ 9-yard line, and Barnette scored, with Bryce Birchfield connecting with Stinnett for the deuce and a 36-14 lead.

Unaka’s final drive saw McKinney hit Gray with a 15-yard scoring strike for the last points of the game. McKinney finished with 202 passing yards on 5-of-22 completions and rushed for 60 yards on seven carries.

Cloudland 36, Unaka 20

Cloudland 14 8 0 14 – 36
Unaka 0 6 8 6 – 20

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
C – Barnette 60 run (Hughes run), 11:24
C – Barnette 6 run (run failed), 1:32

Second Quarter
C – Shell 9 run (Barnette run), 2:54
U – Freeman 55 pass from McKinney (pass failed), 1:34

Third Quarter
U – Fuller 70 pass from McKinney (McKinney pass to Gray), 9:36

Fourth Quarter
C – Stinnett 28 run (run failed), 10:24
C – Barnette 9 run (Birchfield pass to Stinnett), 4:30
U – Gray 15 pass from McKinney (pass failed), 1:11