CLEVELAND, Tenn. - For an offense that bases out of a split-back veer attack, Cleveland has one heck of a passing attack.
Led by quarterback Dallas McCrary, the Blue Raiders rolled to a 34-6 victory over East Hamilton in a high school football game Friday at Cleveland that was delayed an hour and a half at the start by bad weather.
McCrary did operate an option attack part of the time, but his 77-yard bomb to Skyler Davis with 10:18 to go in the first quarter not only set the tone for the night but was a sign of things to come.
McCrary ended up 11-for-21 without an interception for 211 yards and two touchdowns. He was replaced by Jackson Moore with 1:10 to go in the third quarter with the Blue Raiders up 34-0.
McCrary's favorite target on the night was ZaDarius Williams, with whom he connected six times for 81 yards, including a 16-yard scoring pass that made it 20-0 at 7:52 of the third quarter.
Cleveland's second touchdown came when Seth Garcia blocked a punt late in the first quarter and JaShawn Hill picked it up and ran 35 yards for a touchdown.
Micaleous Elder led the rushing attack for Cleveland (2-0) with 75 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
Adding to the all-around performance, Cleveland's defense limited East Hamilton (1-1) to one first down until its last possession of the first half. The Hurricanes drove the ball from their 20 to the Cleveland 4 before disaster struck - in more ways than one.
Senior quarterback Nick Woods rolled to his right and buckled to the ground with a noncontact injury, grabbing his right knee. Woods, who has signed to play baseball at the University of Tennessee, tore an ACL the first football game of his sophomore year.
The Hurricanes' touchdown came when Andrew Sturdivant, who started at running back but switched to quarterback after Woods' injury, ran it in from the 1 on the game's final play.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at @KelleySmiddie.