Tennessee's longest streak of region football wins was snapped Friday night as Cleveland rallied late at home to knock off third-ranked Maryville 28-24 in a Region 2-6A matchup.
The Rebels (5-2, 2-1) had won 144 consecutive region games dating to the 2000 season.
Cleveland earned its first region win of the season by driving 74 yards in 13 plays, capped by Drew Lambert's 16-yard touchdown pass to Lucas Szymborski with 22 seconds remaining.
The Blue Raiders (4-3, 1-2) began the fourth quarter holding a 21-14 lead, but Maryville closed the gap on a short field goal, then went ahead on Noah Vaughn's 5-yard run with 5:02 remaining.
Cleveland then set out on its winning drive, with Lambert 4-of-8 in that possession to finish 15-of-24 for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Mycah Jordan caught nine passes for 124 yards and a score.
Maryville outgained Cleveland 347-265 in total yards, including 198-65 on the ground.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night's Chattanooga-area high school football games)
Tyner 41, Bledsoe County 7: Rams senior Josh Jackson threw for 180 yards and two touchdowns to lead his team to the Region 3-2A road win. Second-ranked Tyner (7-0, 3-0) also ran for 205 yards, led by Markel McKinley's 143 yards on nine carries with scoring runs of 81 and 29 yards.
Hunter Clark ran 24 times for 120 yards and also caught four passes for 54 yards and a score for the Warriors (4-3, 1-2).
Walker Valley 25, Rhea County 14: The Mustangs outscored the visitors 10-0 in the second half to snap a three-game losing skid with a key Region 4-5A victory. Evan Schwarzl ran 11 times for 103 yards and completed 14 of 22 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown to lead Walker Valley (3-4, 2-0).
Ethan Davis ran 15 times for 106 yards and a score for the Golden Eagles (1-5, 1-2).
Whitwell 30, Sale Creek 0: The Tigers pulled away for the Region 3-1A win with a 14-point third quarter. Whitwell (5-1, 2-1) ran for 262 yards and held Sale Creek to 162 total yards. Tigers sophomore quarterback Brandon Easterly had scoring runs of 9, 44 and 57 yards, and Chandler Britton added a 14-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
South Pittsburg 59, Chattanooga Prep 0: Class 1A's sixth-ranked Pirates raced out to a 34-0 lead in the first quarter, kick-started by Jayden Mount's 87-yard kickoff return. Mount later added a 14-yard catch and a 70-yard run for scores, finishing with 199 total yards.
Taja Robinson ran eight times for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Racash Kelly had a 14-yard touchdown catch and a 19-yard scoring run for the Pirates (5-2).
Sweetwater 35, Signal Mountain 32: The Eagles (2-5), who have lost five games by a total of 21 points, trailed 28-0 at halftime, then rallied with five touchdowns in a little more than 18 second-half minutes before losing.
"I asked them what kind of competitors they are," coach Josh Roberts said when asked about his halftime words that set up an explosive second half. "Are you going to fight or are you going to roll over?"
After going 0-for-8 in the first half, Signal Mountain sophomore quarterback Cash Keene and the high-octane offense started rolling in the third quarter. Keene was 10-of-13 for 246 yards and four scores -- one each to Blake Wolfard and Chris Kennedy and two to Collins Payne, including a 63-yard catch-and-run for a 32-28 lead.
But Brayden Westfield's third rushing score of the night came with 20 seconds left to lift the hosts to the win, and it followed a questionable pass interference call against the Eagles on fourth-and-6 on the previous play.
Marion County 62, Tellico Plains 14: The Warriors struck for 55 points in the first half and cruised to the Region 3-2A road win. Brody Leonard ran for two touchdowns, including a 53-yarder, and returned a punt 35 yards for another score. Sam Pickett had a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown, returned an interception for a score and also made two short runs to the end zone, while E.J. Wilson added a 48-yard touchdown run for the Warriors (4-3, 2-1) winners of three straight games.
Lookout Valley 44, Copper Basin 14: The Yellow Jackets (4-3, 1-1 Region 3-1A) secured a playoff spot while relegating the Cougars to 0-6 overall and 0-3 in the league.
Grace Academy 58, Alabama School for the Deaf 22: The Eagles rolled up 461 total yards on a balanced 237 rushing and 224 passing. Carson Knecht was 5-of-6 passing for 123 yards and one touchdown, while Wesley Thompson led Grace's rushing attack with 67 yards and a score.
Other area scores:
Bearden 21, Bradley Central 7
Brainerd 28, Loudon 14
Cannon County 30, Grundy County 12
McMinn Central 17, Kingston 14
Meigs County 20, Polk County 0
Ooltewah 32, Howard 0
Sequatchie County 37, Community 0
GEORGIA
Ringgold 35, Bremen 14: The Tigers rebounded from last week's lopsided Region 6-AAA loss to Adairsville as Ross Norman passed for 210 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score.
Haddon Fries had 91 rushing yards and scored on a 13-yard run to tie the game at 7 after Bremen scored on a fumble return in the first quarter, the first of five consecutive touchdowns for Ringgold (3-3, 2-2). Peyton Williams caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Norman, while Ty Gilbert, who had 123 yards on six catches, scored on receptions of 38 and 17 yards.
Sonoraville 42, Northwest Whitfield 20: Zach Lyles ran for three touchdowns and Jaxon Pate passed for three as the Phoenix (3-3) won in the Region 7-AAAA opener for both teams.
Northwest (4-2) had a 20-8 lead after Owen Brooker threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to Hudson Gray before scoring on runs of 70 and 91 yards. Pate brought Sonoraville back with three consecutive touchdown passes: 68 yards to Brant Bryant, 5 yards to Ty Brown and 15 yards to Bryant.
Trion 39, Dade County 21: Toby Maddux had a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs to help hold off Dade County's comeback attempt. Maddux and Logan Eller each surpassed 100 yards on the ground, with Eller adding a touchdown run, while Kade Smith had 164 yards and two touchdown passes for the Bulldogs (4-1) in their Region 7-A (Division I) opener.
Brody Cooper had 245 yards and a touchdown passing while also rushing for two touchdowns to lead Dade County (3-3, 0-2).
Christian Heritage 70, Ezell-Harding Christian 0: Eli Thomason had 110 yards and five touchdowns on 10 carries to lead the Lions (2-4) to the win in Dalton against their visitors from Nashville. Thomason scored on runs of 9, 12, 8, 28 and 14 yards as Christian Heritage, which had 303 rushing yards, built a 56-0 halftime lead.
Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 30, Ridgeland 10: Tyler Davis rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Dylan Blankenship passed for a score to Brent Bowman and ran for one in a Region 6-AAA win for the Warriors (2-4, 1-2).
North Murray 49, Murray County 0: Seth Griffin passed for 230 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a score for the Mountaineers (4-2, 2-0 Region 7-AA), who also got three touchdowns from Judson Petty, including touchdown catches of 15 and 65 yards.
Adairsville 49, LaFayette 7: The Rambers fell to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in Region 6-AAA with the home loss.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis. Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.