Pivotal second half sends Cherokee Bluff past Lafayette
The Lafayette Ramblers had waited 27 years to play a football playoff game and for a half this past Friday night, it looked as though they might not have to wait nearly as long for another one.
However, a couple of big plays in the passing game and some tough running by the Cherokee Bluff Bears in the second half would eventually wear down the upset-minded Ramblers as the Region 7-AAA champions pulled away in the final two quarters to claim a 35-7 victory.
With the win, Cherokee Bluff (10-1), a third-year program in the postseason for the first time in school history, will play host to Region 5 runner-up Carver-atlanta on Friday, while Lafayette (4-6) saw its season come to a close.
Head coach Paul Ellis said that while the team may not have won as many games this season as they would have preferred, he was happy the players were able to reach their goal of ending the program’s long playoff drought.
“One hundred percent proud of them,” he said. “We kept telling our guys if we came down and here and played, we had a chance and we did, although it got away from us there at the end.”
The Ramblers stunned their hosts on just the fifth play of the game as Junior Barber snuck in behind the secondary on a third-and-10 play to haul in a 43-yard scoring strike from quarterback Jaylon Ramsey and Jacob Brown’s extra point staked the Orange-and-black to a 7-0 lead just 2:30 into the contest.
The next 14 minutes of the game proved more than frustrating for the Bears. After being forced to punt on its first possession, they saw three touchdowns negated by penalties, two on their very next drive, which ended when Lafayette defensive back Kevin Kremb came up with a last-second pass break-up in the endzone on fourth-and-8 from the Lafayette 22.
Lafayette’s defense allowed just 47 yards and only one first down in the Bears’ first three possessions and it looked as though another punt would be forthcoming as Cherokee Bluff faced third-and-10 from its own 10 as the clock ticked under four minutes left in the opening half.
But Kansas commitment Shad Dabney made a sliding catch on a 31-yard pass from quarterback Sebastian Irons for a crucial first down, which finally seemed to jump-start the Bears’ offense. Six plays later, burly running back Jayquan Smith went 12 yards right up the middle and a Mason Gill PAT tied up the contest with 1:49 left in the half.
The opening of third quarter saw Dabney return the kickoff past midfield and the Bears got an additional 15 yards on a Lafayette penalty. Cherokee Bluff overcome a near-interception and a holding call and took advantage of a favorable spot on fourth down before finally scoring on a perfect 34-yard TD on a screen pass to Smith to beat a Lafayette blitz as the hosts went up 14-7 with 8:52 left in the third quarter.
A little more than five minutes later, after a Nick Adams punt backed up the Bears to their own 24, Cherokee Bluff delivered another big play in the passing game. Eric Gohman hauled in a short pass and turned it into a 76yard touchdown to make it 21-7 as Kremb’s diving attempt to knock down the pass came up just a hair short.
The Ramblers tried to get something going late in the
period as they marched from their own 20 to the Cherokee Bluff 36, with 25 yards coming on a third-down run by Jamario Clements.
However, a deep pass by Ramsey on the second play of the fourth quarter was slightly overthrown and Bears’ defensive back Jamir Tolbert made a leaping interception to thwart the scoring chance.
Cherokee Bluff put the game away on its ensuing possession as they marched 51 yards in nine plays with Smith taking a misdirection toss to the left and outrunning the defense to the pylon to boost the lead to 28-7 with 6:15 to play.
The Bears’ defense added add the final points as
Gohman sacked Ramsey on a third-and-eight play, knocking the ball free in the process. Eli Little scooped it up on a bounce before taking it 35 yards to the house with 3:45 to go.
Lafayette put together one final drive, but time would run out on the Ramblers at the Bears’ 3-yard line.
“I wish we had more wins for the kids, but they didn’t lay down tonight,” Ellis explained. “They played hard all the way to the end. There’s way to win and a way to lose and we could have been slinging it all over the place there at the end, but (Cherokee Bluff) put their young kids in (on defense) at the end and we wanted to do it the right way.”
Smith led the ground game with 84 yards on 14 carries. Irons was 9 of 15 for 181 yards and Dabney had two catch
es for 51 yards as Cherokee Bluff finished with 311 total yards, 130 on the ground.
The Ramblers were limited to just 232 yards of total offense, 172 on the ground. Clements had 16 carries for 91 yards and Ramsey had 66 yards on 18 attempts.
Together, the duo eclipsed 2,000 rushing yards for the season as Ramsey finished with 1,189 and Clements picked up 971. Ramsey also had 60 yards passing, giving him 852 on the year and over 2,000 (2,041) all-purpose yards in his junior campaign.
“(This team) will be special to me because they did make history and they’ll always be special at the high school,” Ellis continued. “People will remember them (for making the playoffs) for years.”
He added that apart from some virus quarantines, the Ramblers were “blessed” not
to have any serious health issue this season, from no active COVID cases to only a few minor dings and bruises.
“We have been healthy for the most part, but nothing major, so I have no complaints,” he said. “I’m proud of our kids and proud of our season.”
It was a tough night for Region 6-AAA, as North Murray fell on the road at North Hall (36-28) and Adairsville lost at home to Dawson County (45-31). The lone winner was region champ Rockmart, who held off White County (4835). The Jackets will take on Cedar Grove at home in round two.
The Saints have won three of the last four state titles in Class AAA, including two last two. They were relegated to a No. 3 seed after having to forfeit some games due to playing an ineligible player earlier this season.