Another regular season is in the books, and has become custom, Cleveland hasn’t lost yet and has claimed a high seed in the postseason.
It has been more than five years since the Rams last tasted defeat in a regular season game, and the last 10 of those wins have netted Scott Riley’s team the number one seed in the NCHSAA 4A playoffs, and a home date with Heritage this week.
Records: Heritage 2-8; Cleveland 10-0
How they got here: Cleveland is the champion of the Greater Neuse River 4A, while Heritage received a wildcard after finishing fourth in the Northern 4A.
Simmons Ratings pick: Cleveland -44
Series: Cleveland leads the all-time series 4-0, including a 34-6 win back in August.
Looking back: Jackson Byrd posted his lowest passing yardage total of the season (178 yards), but still threw a couple of touchdown passes while rushing for 103 yards and two more touchdowns. Cleveland held the Huskies to 20 yards rushing and a single touchdown.
Media: The game will air on JOCORadio.com.
Stat pack: Heritage is being outscored, on average, by about 23 points per game. That’s because its schedule is loaded with quality teams. The eight losses came to schools with a combined record of 64-16. In fact, Brian Simmons rates it as the state’s second-toughest schedule.
The Huskies’ stat sheet looks like you’d expect a 2-8 team’s numbers to look. There’s some talent here, but it hasn’t always been put in positions to shine, stat-wise.
Meanwhile, Cleveland’s statistics look like those of a 10-0 squad:
Jackson Byrd’s assault on the Johnston County record book continues with abandon. He’s third in the state (among schools that report stats to MaxPreps) in passing yards and passing touchdowns and leads the stats in total yards with 3,374.
Sawyer Lowe cracks the state leaderboard in tackles, clocking in at No. 7 with 144.
Key to the game: The schedule says Heritage at Cleveland, but really, this week Cleveland is playing itself. Can the Rams take this game seriously, having already beaten a 2-8 team earlier in the season? Poor execution and sloppy play will be the only reason this game doesn’t flirt with the mercy rule in the second half.
Prediction: To quote Clubber Lang from Rocky III, “pain.”