A Carter County clash went the way of Cloudland.
The ‘Landers pulled away and then held off a late Unaka rally to take a 46-28 victory at Orr Field on Friday night.
Cloudland had a big night from Gage McKinney, who tallied 317 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground and also added a 99-yard touchdown return.
The ‘Landers took the opening kickoff and used a fourth-down conversion from Jacob Street to keep the drive alive.
After taking nearly 10 minutes off the clock, Cloudland got on the board first as Cayden Clarke caught a 15-yard pass from Camden Peppers with 2:11 on the clock.
McKinney added the two-point conversion as CHS held an 8-0 lead after a quarter of play.
Unaka, however, started the second quarter inside Cloudland territory and opened the second quarter scoring when Landon Ramsey hit Jamol Blamo for a six-yard pass. Blamo added the two-point conversion.
Cloudland got back on the board after penalties backed them up to a third-and-51, McKinney broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run. Kyle Birchfield added the two-point conversion.
Unaka continued the back-and-forth as Blamo scored from 37 yards out for the Rangers, but the two-point conversion came up short.
On the ensuing kickoff, McKinney picked the ball up at the one and raced 99 yards for the score to give Cloudland a 24-14 lead at the half.
Unaka moved the ball into Cloudland territory to open the second half, but the ‘Lander defense came up with a big stop on fourth down.
The ‘Landers took advantage with a 13-play drive that was capped off when McKinney scored from a yard out and added the two-point conversion to give CHS a 32-14 lead after three quarters.
Cloudland capitalized on an Unaka turnover early in the fourth as McKinney found the endzone from two yards out.
Unaka, however, battled back.
Takoda Freeman caught a Ramsey pass for a 29-yard touchdown, and Ramsey connected with Blamo to add the two-point conversion.
After the Rangers recovered the onside kick, Ramsey and the Rangers moved quickly with Ramsey scoring on a six-yard run.
Unaka was unable to make it a one-possession game as the two-point conversion came up short.
Cloudland secured the win as McKinney capped the scoring with a nine-yard run. Peppers and Elijah Holtsclaw added the two-point conversion to account for the scoring.
In addition to McKinney’s big night, Birchfield had 13 carries for 71 yards, while Peppers went 4-of-6 passing for 50 yards.
Cloudland finished with 432 rushing yards as a team.
Ramsey had 221 passing yards with 18-of-27 passing, while Blamo had 101 rushing yards.
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