ROAN MOUNTAIN – North Greene’s playoff hopes were on the line on Friday night at Orr Field in Roan Mountain. The Huskies landed the first punch, but were knocked up against the ropes before eventually falling to the mat with a crushing 46-36 loss at Cloudland on Friday night.
“Kind of a wild game. Back-and-forth, but again, self-inflicted wounds in terms of missed assignments put us in a position where we’re having to try to come back at the end of the game. I’ll give it to them this time they fought until the final whistle tonight,” North Greene Head Coach Eric Tilson stated.
Friday night’s game was practically a postseason eliminator or a play-in game if you will. Both squads were in the running for the fourth spot from Region 1-1A with the season winding down and no room for error. Cloudland walked into its Senior Night with a 2-2 region record while North Greene sat at 1-3. The winner would essentially earn the tiebreaker over one another and grant themselves a berth into November’s postseason.
The Highlanders were the victors and spoiled North Greene’s bid at a playoff spot.
The Huskies fell to 2-6 (1-4) with the loss and will finish the season on the road at Sunbright and Unaka in the last two weeks.
The rain poured all game long and, coincidentally, didn’t start until kickoff and stopped right before the conclusion of Friday’s game. The rain made the passing game harder and the wet turf became an issue at times. But the Huskies still battled through it all.
North Greene started the game with a 90-yard scoring drive and took an 8-0 lead right out of the gate. Leon Johnson rumbled in for a 10-yard rushing touchdown and the Huskies were up 8-0 with 7:00 left in the first after a successful two-point conversion.
Cloudland didn’t shy away and drove 70 yards for an equalizer in just over a minute-and-a-half. Grayson Cole finished the Highlanders opening drive with a 6-yard rushing touchdown. The score was tied 8-8 with 5:11 to go in the first.
North Greene punted on their next drive and it proved costly. Cloudland received the ball on North Greene’s 38-yard line after a bad punt and scored in just over a minute to take the lead. Landon Barnette reached the end zone and Cloudland led 16-8 with 2:21 left in the opening quarter.
The next Huskies drive ended in a turnover-on-downs and Cloudland took advantage of it. The drive started at the 50 just seconds into the second quarter and ended in the end zone. Gavyn Shell took a 36-yard catch to the house for a Cloudland touchdown. The Highlanders led 24-8 with 9:18 until the half.
Grayson Cole intercepted Jared Swatzell’s pass on the next drive, but Matthew Boyd intercepted a pass next and helped North Greene take control back. Boyd was tacked down at the 7-yard line and set the Huskies up in prime position to score.
Leon Johnson crossed the goal line on the second play of the drive for a 4-yard touchdown. Kelson Eastep converted the two-point conversion and cut the Huskies deficit to 24-16 with 4:12 until the half.
“When we got down it was one of those points where we could’ve laid down. We had a senior, Matt Boyd, make a big play and get an interception and go return it and get us within a one score game and then we get an onside kick later on. Those are some bright spots as you look forward to the fact that these guys aren’t quitting and playing to the whistle which is one thing we emphasized this week,” Coach Tilson detailed.
Cloudland successfully used the rest of the clock to their advantage and scored with one second left on the last play of the half. The Huskies needed a stop and just needed to hold on for one more play. Quarterback Jordan Hodges ran a bootleg play around the right side and raced to the pylon for six.
North Greene trailed 32-16 at the half.
Cloudland also got the ball back to open up the second half, but North Greene stood strong defensively and forced the first punt of the night.
The first offensive drive of the second have proved to be successful and Leon Johnson found his way into the end zone for the third time with a 19-yard rushing touchdown and cut the deficit to 32-22 with 7:55 left in the third.
The play of the game for North Greene was an onside kick following Johnson’s touchdown that was successfully recovered by the Huskies. North Greene set up shop at the Highlanders 45-yard line and matched down the field in a little over four minutes for another touchdown. And to nobody’s surprise, Leon Johnson stretched the field and scored his fourth touchdown of the night with a 3-yard run into the end zone. Johnson also scored the two-point conversion and pulled North Greene within two, 32-30, with 3:42 left until the fourth.
Cloudland used the clock to their advantage and chewed five-and-a-half minutes off and ended the drive with a successful fourth down conversion to the end zone. Landon Barnette hauled in a screen pass and weaved in between his blockers before finding the end zone for a 9-yard receiving touchdown on 4th & 6.
The two-point conversion failed and it stayed a one possession game, 38-30, with 10:12 left.
The fourth quarter did not treat North Greene kindly. As the rain kept falling and the clock kept ticking, the pressure was on. The Huskies failed to convert on 4th down and lost Leon Johnson due to injury on the same drive. Luckily, North Greene forced a stop on defense and received the ball back on their own 40-yard line with 5:18 left.
North Greene’s season hung in the balance on a 4th-&-6 play with just over four minutes left. Jared Swatzell heaved up a long ball, but it was well short and the drive stalled again.
The knockout punch came on the very next play from scrimmage. Landon Barnette found a seam and raced 44 yards to the end zone for a game-sealing, and playoff clinching, touchdown. The Huskies stared at a 46-30 deficit with 3:58 left.
North Greene managed to drive the field and successfully score, but with only three seconds left. Jared Swatzell made a heroic 21-yard scramble to the 2-yard line with 28 seconds left and set up a Charles Price 1-yard rushing touchdown. The Huskies needed to convert the two-point conversion for any hope of a miracle. That wouldn’t be the case as the two-point conversion failed.
North Greene suffered a crushing 46-36 defeat to Cloudland. The Huskies are now eliminated from postseason contention, ending a program-record five-year playoff streak.
“One week at a time. One play at a time. It’s what it’s got to be. These seniors essentially have two more weeks of football. What do they want out of this, they can still achieve out of this year,” Coach Tilson ended with.
The Huskies travel to Sunbright next Friday for another Region 1-1A contest at 7:00.
