Cloudland celebrated the seniors in style Friday night.
The ‘Landers rolled to a 54-22 victory over North Greene on Senior Night at Orr Field.
With the win, Cloudland won the Region 1-A Championship outright, and it was the 28th consecutive win in region play for the ‘Landers.
Gage McKinney powered the CHS rushing attack as he had 25 carries for 334 yards and seven touchdowns. The senior also added a passing touchdown.
Cloudland started quickly as the Blue and Gold recovered an NG fumble on the opening kickoff, and Elijah Holtsclaw caught a McKinney pass for a 31-yard touchdown. That allowed Cloudland to take an 8-0 lead seconds into the game.
Grayson Collins and the Huskies, however, wasted no time in answering as Collins raced 70 yards for a touchdown.
Cloudland answered the score with a nine-play drive that was capped by a six-yard McKinney touchdown.
Two plays later, senior Caden Clarke jumped on an NG fumble to set up a 31-yard touchdown for McKinney to send Cloudland to the second quarter with a 20-8 lead.
North Greene looked to answer, but Cloudland senior Jacob Street anchored the defensive line that held strong on fourth down.
After McKinney opened the second-quarter scoring with a short run, NG countered with a lengthy drive that ended when Yeshua Vaught scored on an eight-yard run.
The teams swapped interceptions over the next two possessions with Tanner Blevins nabbing Cloudlands.
The Blevins interception set up a 70-yard touchdown run by McKinney as Cloudland led 32-14 at the half.
The ‘Landers continued to have control in the third quarter as McKinney added a pair of touchdowns in the stanza to erase any thought of an NG comeback.
Collins scored early in the fourth for the Huskies, but McKinney answered with a 55-yard run to cap the scoring.
Holtsclaw had two catches for 31 yards, while Auston Caraway added 26 receiving yards.
Vaught led NG with 30 carries for 145 yards, while Collins had 15 carries for 131 yards.
Cloudland now turns its attention to the playoffs. The ‘Landers will host Oakdale in the first round on Friday at Orr Field.
For more photos, click here.
