BY  JAY BENNETT

The Cheraw Braves secured a spot in the upcoming Class AA playoffs with a 14-0 shutout victory over the Buford Yellow Jackets last Friday night at Meiklejohn Field.  The win was Cheraw’s seventh consecutive victory over Buford, as the Braves have never lost to the Yellow Jackets.  Coach Billy Amick’s defensive unit continued their improved play, as they only allowed 106 total yards in the win and they had ten tackles for loss.

The offense posted two first half touchdowns, which was all the home team would need to pick up the win, but they were stopped on downs, three times inside the 15-yard line.  Darius Little led the rushing attack, as he totaled 90 yards on 20 carries and he scored one touchdown, while Storm Jacobs had a stellar night throwing the football.  The junior signal-caller connected on six of his eleven passes for 87 yards and a score, as his completions helped loosen up Buford’s eight-man front.  The Yellow Jackets were determined to not allow Cheraw to run the football and they did a pretty good job of it, as they held the home team to only 170 yards on the ground.

The win upped Cheraw’s overall record to 3-6, but more importantly 3-1 in region play, while Buford fell to 3-6 overall and 1-3 in the region.

“We’re very pleased to get another win, but not exactly overjoyed with the way we played,” Coach Johnny White stated after the contest.  “The defensive side of the ball continues to get better, but we left way too many points on the field again tonight.   We should have had three more touchdowns and that makes two week in a row that we have had major problems in the red zone.  I’m not complaining at all about a win, but we still have a long way to go,” Coach White added.

The home team got the football first and they jumped out to a quick lead by going

60 yards in only four plays.  Darius Little did most of the damage on the opening scoring drive, as the senior halfback scored on a 41-yard scamper, on a simple isolation play.  Little found a huge hole, up the middle, and he outran the entire Buford secondary to paydirt.  James Davis added the P.A.T. and the Braves had a 7-0 advantage with 10:06

left in the first period of play.

The visitors went backward on their initial offensive possession, as the Cheraw defensive unit tackled Desmond McGriff twice behind the line of scrimmage.  McGriff then got off a 32-yard punt and the Braves had excellent field position for their second offensive series, at their own 44-yard line.

McGriff then made his presence known on defense, as held tackled Darius Little for a six-yard loss, to move the ball back to the 38-yard line.  Jacobs then hit Brad Bradley for 14 yards and then he connected with Gerald Ewing for 27 yards to move the ball down to the Buford 18-yard line.  Ewing made a leaping catch over Tripp Wright,

as Jacobs threw an outside fade pass towards the home sideline.  Three running plays moved the ball down to the 12-yard line, but Little was stopped one yard short of the chains, on a sweep play to left, on fourth down.

After an exchange of punts, the Yellow Jackets were backed up at their own seven-yard line, thanks to a 50-yard boot by Brad Bradley.  Bradley’s punt hit at about the 20-yard stripe and rolled all the way down to the shadow of the goal line.

The first quarter ended on the punt and it was a period that the Braves had completely dominated.  Cheraw had 114 total yards in 15 plays, while the visitors only had 24 total yards in eight offensive plays, but the score was only 7-0.

The Cheraw defensive unit made a big play to open the second quarter, as John Cooks had a devastating hit on Desmond Wright, jarring the football loose, and David Durant fell on the pigskin for the Braves, at the Buford 10-yard stripe.

A holding penalty on first down backed the ball up to the 19-yard line and the

red zone opportunity ended when Jacobs’ fourth down pass to Demetrius Miller sailed harmlessly out of the back of the endzone.

Three plays and a punt by the visitors and the Braves had the football back at the

Buford 38-yard line.  Another holding penalty on second down backed the ball up to the

41-yard line, but the foul didn’t stop the home team this time, as Jacobs hooked up with Brad Bradley on a 20-yard pass play to pick up a first down at the 21-yard line.  Jacobs then finished off the Braves’ second scoring drive with a five-yard strike to Gerald Ewing, on fourth down.  Jacobs rolled to the right and then fired the ball back to Ewing, who was waiting in the middle of the endzone.   James David added the P.A.T. once again and the home team had a 14-0 lead with only 3:14 left before intermission.

The Yellow Jackets then went back to their running game and started to move

the football, using the legs of their bruising fullback, Scott Catledge.  Four runs by Catledge got the pigskin down to the Cheraw 38-yard line, but a sack by Charles Kinser, and three incomplete passes ended that scoring threat.  Storm Jacobs then took a knee and the Braves carried a 14-0 advantage into the halftime break.

The home team had amassed 168 total yards in 31 plays and had the ball for 13:50 at the break, while Buford only had 52 total yards in 23 plays and they had the pigskin for 10:10.

The visitors got the football first in the second half, but Catledge fumbled the pigskin on the second play from scrimmage and Quinten Lewis recovered for Cheraw,

at the Buford 32-yard line.

Five consecutive running plays moved the ball down to the 15-yard stripe, but

another scoring chance in the red zone ended when C.J. Blackmon intercepted Jacobs’ pass to Gerald Ewing in the endzone.

After another exchange of punts, the Yellow Jackets started another long march, that appeared to have ended when Darius Little intercepted a pass at the 40-yard stripe, but a roughing the passer penalty on David Durant nullified the pick and gave Buford a first down at the Cheraw 40-yard stripe.  The visitors got the ball down to the 25-yard line on four consecutive runs by Catledge, but the fumble bug reared it’s ugly head, as Demetrius Miller stripped Montra Wright of the football at the 10-yard line and Xavier Taylor fell on it for the Braves.

Three plays and a punt for the Braves and the visitors got the ball back at the Cheraw 40-yard line with 8:12 left in the contest.  Buford went back to the ground and moved the chains at the 29-yard line, but Brad Bradley busted through the line and sacked McGriff at the 35-yard stripe.  McGriff then went for the bomb on fourth down, but the ball fell incomplete, giving Cheraw the ball back. The referee had other ideas though and another roughing the passer penalty, this one on Quentin Lewis, kept the Buford drive alive.

The Yellow Jackets got as far as the 10-yard stripe, but a bobbled snap by McGriff and a fumble recovery by Kris McCoy, ended the last Buford scoring opportunity.

The mission was simple for the Cheraw offensive unit: pick up a couple of

first downs and run out the remaining 3:56 left on the scoreboard clock.  Xavier Taylor, Darius Little, and Durrell Hawkins all took turns running the football, but it was runs

of 19 and 13 yards by Hawkins that picked up two first downs and ran out the rest of the clock, as the Braves closed out their 14-0 region victory.

“Once again, a win is a win and we only have three of them this year, but we have a lot to do in practice to get ready for a great Central team,”  Coach White said.  “We still have got to cut down on our penalties and stick the ball in the endzone when we get down close.  That’s two weeks in a row that we have left a bunch of points on the field and we cannot do that if we want to win the rest of the way,” Coach White added.

“We’ve got Central coming in here next Friday and this game is for a share of the region championship,” Coach White stated.  “They are definitely the best team that we have played this season and that’s saying a lot.  They are very deep and talented at every position and we’ve got to play a perfect game to beat them.  I’ve got tons of respect for Coach Mangum and his program up there and I’m sure we’ll get their best shot on Friday night.  We really need a big, big crowd to come out and support this young team, as they have worked very hard to earn this shot at the region title,” Coach White added.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

(OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK)

#15                        Junior quarterback, Storm Jacobs, completed 6 of 11 passes

for 87 yards and one touchdown in Cheraw’s 14-0 win over Buford.

(DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK)

#35                        Sophomore lineman, Quentin Lewis, paced the Cheraw defense

with seven total tackles.  He had three solo stops, three assists,

one sack, and a fumble recovery in Cheraw’s 14-0 win over Buford.