Cloudland was unable to rally on Friday night.
The ‘Landers dropped a 41-20 decision to Greenback in the first round of the TSSAA Class A Playoffs at Orr Field.
With the loss, Cloudland sees the season end with a 6-5 mark.
The Cherokees struck quickly as Caden Lawson found Brady Allison for a 56-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game, and Lawson added the two-point conversion.
Cloudland answered with a methodical drive that covered 59 yards in 11 plays. The drive was capped as Bryce Birchfield found Auston Carway for a 17-yard touchdown pass to trim the GHS lead to 8-6.
Greenback scored quickly on the ensuing drive as Lawson hit Kooper Williams for an 18-yard score to cap a two-play drive.
After Greenback jumped on a ‘Lander fumble on the kick, Connor James took a Lawson pass 30 yards to give Greenback a 22-6 after a quarter of play.
The ‘Landers settled down in the second as another lengthy drive ended when Kyle Birchfield scored on a three-yard run. The teams traded possessions until the final drive of the half as Lawson scored on a one-yard run in the closing seconds of the half as the Cherokees held a 29-12 halftime lead.
Defenses set the tone in the third quarter as neither team was able to get on the board.
Cloudland hit a big play to open the fourth quarter as K. Birchfield hit Jacob Stinnett for a 65-yard pass from the Wildcat formation, and Grayson Cole added the two-point conversion as CHS pulled within nine.
The ‘Landers recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Cason Workman jumped in front of a Cloudland pass and returned it 40 yards for a pick-six.
The ‘Landers continued to battle, but were unable to trim into the lead in the closing minutes.
Birchfield tallied 119 yards on 34 carries, while Cole had 14 carries for 63 yards.
Stinnett had two catches for 74 yards, while Walker Gouge had 2 catches for 33 yards.
Lawson went 13-of-18 for 231 yards to pace the Cherokees, while James had seven catches for 78 yards.
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