In an instant classic, Cloudland never let up.
The ‘Landers outlasted North Greene for a 58-51 Region 1-A victory on Friday night in a wild back-and-forth battle in Baileyton. With the win, Cloudland improved to 4-4 overall and 4-1 in Region 1-A play.
Landon Barnette had four touchdowns and 160 yards on 12 carries, while Bryce Birchfield had 10 carries for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Grayson Cole was the third Cloudland back to break the 100-yard mark as he finished with 22 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
As a team, Cloudland had 448 yards of total offense.
After North Greene jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the ‘Landers started to battle back.
Barnette capped a quick drive with a four-yard run, and Cole added the two-point conversion as Cloudland trimmed the Husky lead to 14-8 after a quarter of play.
Thomas Darnell added a 45-yard touchdown run for Cloudland, but the ‘Landers countered quickly with a 51-yard scoring run by Barnette. North Greene pushed the lead to 28-14 as Kelson Eastep caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Darnell.
Cloudland answered once again as Barnette broke loose for a 46-yard touchdown and Birchfield added the two-point conversion. On the ensuing kickoff, Cloudland recovered the onside that set up a 10-yard touchdown by Barnet as CHS took a 30-28 lead.
North Greene saw Eastep and Darnell connect again for a touchdown pass with 21 seconds left in the half, but CHS answered on the final play of the half as Birchfield scored on a 53-yard run to take a 36-35 halftime lead.
The ‘Landers took momentum in the third quarter.
Birchfield scored on a 42-yard touchdown run, and Cole added a short score as Cloudland pushed the lead to 50-35. North Greene cut the gap to 50-43 after three complete quarters with a Leon Johnson touchdown run.
Cloudland pushed the advantage back out to 56-43 with a Cole touchdown run with 6:29 to play. The teams swapped possessions – including a big fourth-down stop by the ‘Lander defense – before North Greene attempted a late comeback.
Brandon Weems caught a Darnell pass for a 32-yard touchdown with a minute left, and the Huskies added the two-point conversion to close the gap to seven points.
Cloudland, however, was able to recover the onside kick to secure the win.
Johnson led North Greene with 112 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns, while Darnell had 12 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown while going 10-of-22 for 158 yards and three passing touchdowns.
