In Week 7 of the high school football season, Cedar Bluff (5-4, 5-2) lost to Spring Garden and it appeared the Tigers might not make the playoffs, with tough games against Class 1A, Region 7 foes Gaston and Gaylesville on the horizon.
However, Cedar Bluff came away with two must-have victories and instead of staying home for Week 11, the Tigers will host a first-round playoff game. A loss to either the Bulldogs or Trojans would’ve limited Cedar Bluff to 10 games this season.
“We approached the last two games as the last one on our schedule,” said Cedar Bluff coach Jonathan McWhorter. “There was no looking forward for us. The kids were focused and the effort was there.
“We definitely had a bigger sense of urgency the last two weeks.”
Approaching it as one-game seasons, the Tigers defeated Gaston last week, then edged past Gaylesville, 21-20 in overtime Friday, to secure the playoff berth.
The win over Gaylesville (6-3, 5-2) was surely hard-fought, as the teams were evenly-matched throughout and it wasn’t decided until the Trojans missed a two-point conversion attempt on a rush by Tyler Bradford.
“That was a bad call by me,” said Gaylesville coach Brian Clowdis. “I wanted to go for the win, but I should’ve called a different play.”
Stuffing the play was Tiger Anthony Taylor, who got into the backfield and tackled Bradford before the play had time to develop.
The overtime period was just like the rest of the contest - a classic that will be discussed for years to come in these neighboring communities.
Cedar Bluff had first possession in the extra frame and scored on a 5-yard pass from Kyle Crane to Idral Bowen. Jim Nelson booted the extra point.
Gaylesville then took the ball and gave the ball to Bradford three straight times, scoring from 5 yards out on the third run.
Clowdis then made the decision to go for the victory, something that worked a week previously against Valley Head. In that game, the Trojans scored late and got the two-point conversion for a win.
“I knew (Clowdis) would go ahead and try to win,” McWhorter said. “Why not? They ran it down our throats the whole second half. Why not go with what’s been working?
“I made the decision to go for the extra point on ours, knowing that it would be all or nothing if Gaylesville scored.”
The rest of the game was just as nip-and-tuck, as both teams scored six first-half points and eight second-half points.
After a first quarter that was nothing but field-position football, the Tigers got on the board on the third play of the second period, on a 1-yard Crane rush. Nelson’s PAT try was wide right.
The play capped an eight-play, 89-yard drive, with back-to-back pass plays of 27 and 39 yards covering huge chunks of real estate. Taylor caught both aerials.
Late in the half, Gaylesville caught a break when the Tigers were forced to punt. The snap was high, causing Nelson to rush his kick, which was almost blocked and traveled only 4 yards, putting the Trojans only 32 yards from the end zone.
Seven plays later, quarterback Cain Higgins scored on a strange play that almost looked like a trick play.
Running the option, Higgins put the ball in the hands of Bradford, but neither athlete let go of the ball and they ran forward into a wall of defenders, playing tug of war.
Somehow, Higgins popped out of the line with the ball in his hands, completing a 6-yard play at the 1:46 mark.
“It wasn’t a trick play,” Clowdis said. “It was just an option that didn’t work the way it was supposed to.”
Higgins’ PAT try was wide left.
The Tigers got the ball first in the second half and went three-and-out.
Gaylesville then used ball-control to complete 15 plays and use up most of the quarter before scoring on a 1-yard Higgins rush with 2:09 remaining.
On an incomplete two-point pass, Cedar Bluff was called for pass interference and needing only 1 ½ yards for the two-points, Bradford strolled into the end zone.
“I felt good then,” Clowdis said. “But they got a couple of big plays to get right back in it.”
The plays he referred to actually happened two drives later.
After each squad punted, Cedar Bluff mounted a drive that covered 76 yards in eight plays.
The Tigers had a 24-yard run by Skylar Boswell on the drive and the scoring play was a 28-yard Crane-to-Jhavonn Brown pass.
With 6:07 left to play, Crane connected with Boswell for the tying two-points.
Following a Trojan punt, it appeared that Cedar Bluff might win in regulation.
On third-and-7 from the Tiger 49, Nelson completed a 22-yard halfback pass to Boswell. On the next play, Crane hurled a pass to a seemingly wide-open Taylor, but Trojan defensive back Zac Mobbs ran in from the side and made a great one-handed interception, making overtime necessary.
With the win, Cedar Bluff finished second in the region and the loss spiraled Gaylesville all the way to fourth. A Trojan victory would’ve given them a No. 1 seed.
The outcome also left Spring Garden out of the playoffs. The Panthers would’ve played extra football had Gaylesville won.
McWhorter was quick to point out that besides the players responding in a big way to the possibility of not making the postseason, which the coaches did too.
“The assistants - Mark Mitchell, Scott Clifton, Taylor Talbot and Shane McFry - all came up huge these past two weeks,” McWhorter said. “This is by no means a one-man show or anything. The players, coaches, managers, booster club and community all do their parts around here. Our fans are used to winning and everyone involved wants to keep that tradition going.”
Bradford finished with 118 yards on 28 carries, while Higgins ran 14 times for 89 yards.
Higgins completed 2-of-8 passes for 15 yards.
The Trojan defense sacked Crane four times, with Caleb McCord recording two sacks. J.C. Beason and Bradford got one each.
Bradford had eight tackles, followed by Mobbs with eight, J.C. Beason with seven and Shcoven Warren with five.
Cedar Bluff reciprocated with Luke May and Nelson getting a sack apiece.
The Tigers visit Ragland Thursday and Gaylesville hosts White Plains Friday, to close out the regular season
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