Delontae Clay (3) is hoisted up in celebration after Cascade held on to defeat Eagleville with a late-game defensive stand on Thursday night. (Post Photos by Chris Siers)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
BELL BUCKLE — Fifteen years is a long time.
October 1, 2010 was the last time the Cascade Champions(3-1) defeated Eagleville in a 7-6 defensive struggle.
Since then however, the Eagles have owned the series.
On Thursday night, Cascade ended that streak with a gutsy effort in front of a home crowd at the Stable as the Champs held on to beat the No. 3 Class 1A ranked Eagles in a 24-21 thriller.
After building a 14-0 lead by halftime, Cascade appeared to be in cruise control, having forced two punts, a turnover on downs and an interception during the first half.
But Eagleville (2-2) emerged from the locker room and in
Andrew Dowell cuts down Eagleville tailback Jonathan Jordan for a huge tackle for loss with less than two minutes to play on Thursday night, prompting a key fourth and long. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
the third quarter, seized total control of the game.
Exploiting a ground game that attacked the right side of the Cascade defensive front, the Eagles leaned on a steady mix of chunk plays from the dynamic duo of Jonathan Jordan and Thomas Soloman, who simply wouldn’t be denied in the second half on Thursday night.
On the first Eagleville drive of the third, the Eagles marched 62 yards before finding paydirt for their first score of the game.
Solomon had 23 yards on three carries on the drive, while Jordan had three touches as well for 34 yards before scoring on a 10-yard run with 8:45 left to cut the Cascade lead to 14-7.
Cascade answered in swift order, nearly mirroring the Eagle drive before Nate Zimmerman plowed into the end zone from the one-yard line to cap a eight-play drive to jump out to a 21-7 lead, following Gabe Perez’ successful kick after.
But again, the Eagles called Jordan’s number and late in the third, rattled loose on the right side of the field for a 15-yard score to once again pull within seven with 3:58 to go in the period.
Cascade took the following possession from the 36 and twice converted on third down to move well into the red zone before the drive stalled inside the 10-yard line, prompting a 21-yard field goal try by Perez, which split the uprights to put Cascade up 24-14 with 9:25 to play.
Things got interesting on the next Eagle drive, which chewed up nearly five minutes of the clock before Solomon broke through on a four-yard score to pull within three points.
Having seized all the momentum in the game, Eagleville held Cascade to a three and out, takin
Nate Zimmerman dives through the Eagleville defense to the end zone in the first quarter. He finished with 66 yards on 24 carries and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Champion ground game. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
g just two minutes off the clock.
After the Champion punt with 2:37 left to play, Eagleville methodically moved the ball into Cascade territory, aided on a 24-yard pitch and catch by Marshall Fields, which compounded into a 39-yard pickup following a 15-yard personal foul penalty assessed against Cascade with 1:59 to go.
With no timeouts and a bleeding clock, Eagleville was forced to go to the air to move the ball the remaining 32 yards, but on third down, Andrew Dowell burst through the line and wrapped Jordan up for a two-yard loss on perhaps the biggest play of the night.
With 1:25 left in regulation, Eagleville quarterback Benton Fox dropped back and attempted a pass down the visitor sideline, only to have it broken up to allow Cascade to run out the remainder of the clock in victory formation.
While it was a key defensive stand that ultimately won the game in the clutch, Cascade exploded out of the gates on a 12-play drive that twice converted on third down before tailback Nate Zimmerman scored on a three-yard dive into the end zone with 7:18 to go in the first quarter.
But from there, Cascade didn’t pick up another first down in the half until its final drive of the first half, which ended in a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Bradley to Delontae Clay on a quick slant to put the Champs up 14-0 by halftime.
In total, Zimmerman cranked out 66 yards on 24 touches and had two scores. He also had a pair of reception
Sam Bradley stands tall in the pocket and delivers a strike before taking a shot from the Eagle defense. He completed 14-of-22 attempts for 126 yard and a touchdown. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
s for 19 yards in the win.
Bradley completed 14-of-22 attempts for 126 yards and a touchdown.
His top two targets of the night were Braxtyn Burris and Delontae Clay, who each caught four passes.
Burris recorded 33 yards on his four catches, while Clay finished with 44 receiving yards.
With Thursday night’s bounce-back win in the books, Cascade now turns its attention to the meat of its region schedule.
Next Friday, the Champions will hit the road and travel to Sequatchie County.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Eagleville 0 0 14 7 — 21
Cascade 7 7 7 3 — 24
First Quarter
C — Nate Zimmerman 3 run, (Gabe Perez kick), 7:18.
Second Quarter
C — Delontae Clay 13 pass from Sam Bradley, (Gabe Perez kick), :41.
Third Quarter
E — Jonathan Jordan 10 run, (kick failed), 8:45.
C — Zimmerman 1 run, (Perez kick), 5:37.
E — Jordan 15 run, (Jordan 2pt. run), 3:58.
Fourth Quarter
C — Perez 21-yard field goal, 9:25.
E — Thomas Solomon 4 run, (Jacob Davis kick), 4:38.