CCHS beats Yazoo City to head into playoffs with 10-0 record
The purple and black freight train known as Cleveland Central High School continued to speed on its track to perfection on Thursday (Nov. 7) at Parks Field at Mickey Sellers Stadium.
The Wolves finished the regular season undefeated as they ran over the Yazoo City High School Indians 42-12 in Region 2-5A football action .
The Wolves, now 10-0 with a final region record of 5-0, will take on the Pontotoc High School Warriors (5-4, No. 4 seed, Region 1) in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association 5A State Football Playoffs on Friday (Nov. 15) at Parks Field at Mickey Sellers Stadium. Yazoo City (4-6, 2-3 reg.) will be the fourth seed from Region 2 and will hit the road to play West Point (7-3, No. 1 seed, Region 1) in the first round of the playoffs on Friday (Nov. 15).
This year marks the first time the Wolves have finished the regular season perfect since 2017. The Wolves started the contest off slow as they actually trailed 12-7 early in the game. Cleveland Central’s balanced offensive attack and relentless defense enabled the Wolves to dominate the rest of the game and score 35 unanswered points.
“We came out a little slow and had some blown assignments there defensively in the first half,” said CCHS Head Football Coach Kendrick Woodard. “We went to the sidelines and got that fixed. Offensively, we had a couple of missed assignments as far as our blocking scheme, but we were able to get that worked out. Outside of those first couple of possessions, I thought our team played really well overall the rest of the way.”
The game was also senior night for CCHS as the team honored its seniors before the contest.
“Senior night went great,” said Woodard. “A majority of those guys honored have been part of the program for four years. So they’ve had their share of ups and downs. It was good for those seniors and the rest of the guys to finish the regular season with an undefeated record.”
On offense for the Wolves, senior quarterback Javaris Beamon and junior running back Anthony Stevens were in fine form. Beamon completed 12-of-17 passes for 211 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, and Stevens ran for 205 yards with two touchdowns on 22 carries and had a three-yard reception. Sophomore Javarious Griffin had five receptions for 96 yards with a touchdown; junior J’Karvey McGee caught three passes for 82 yards with two touchdowns; senior Trevion Stokes caught three passes for 30 yards, and senior Kaleb Perry rushed for five yards on three carries with a touchdown to round out the Wolves’ attack. In the kicking game, senior Jack Wright had another great night for CCHS by going 5-of-5 on PAT kicks.
On defense for the Wolves, senior Kendall Cleveland recorded six tackles (two solos, four assists); senior JaChristian Sutton had five tackles (two solos, three assists) with a sack; junior Jason Spencer had three tackles (two solos, one assist) with an interception; senior Lacoyrius Branch had two solo tackles and a fumble recovery, and senior Verquavion Cattildge (one solo, two assists), senior Jahvion Carter (one solo, two assists), senior Kylan Jackson (one solo, two assists), senior Marquis Rimbert (two solos, one assist) and senior Michael Harris (three assists) recorded three tackles each to lead the way.
This first round game against Pontotoc will also mark the first time CCHS has had a postseason game at home since 2017.
“There’s nothing like playing in your home stadium in front of your home crowd,” said Woodard. ‘You don’t have to worry about travel on Friday. The players are excited about getting to play in front of the school body and their families. We can really just focus on getting ready to play football.”
Even though Pontotoc is a four seed, CCHS will be anticipating a war Friday night.
“It will be a challenge without a doubt,” said Woodard. “At this point in time, every game is going to be a challenge especially with that division (Region 1-5A). That division is pretty strong from top to bottom. They’ve been able to have our number pretty good. We know Pontotoc is going to come in playing their best ball. Pontotoc runs that the double wing offense. With that double wing, it’s all about alignment and assignments.”
CCHS will be making the playoffs for the fourth year in a row and fifth year overall in team history. The Wolves haven’t won a playoff game as they’re 0-4 lifetime in the postseason.
Woodard said the team is determined to do more than just have a good regular season.
“The guys seem to be really focused,” said Woodard. “We’ve been having really good days at practice, and as a staff we’re trying to do our best to stay locked in. We’re trying to keep the guys focused and let them know that going undefeated is good, but this is a new season. We want to try to go 4-0 for the next four weeks and reach that ultimate goal which is to win the state championship.”
Kickoff against Pontotoc is set for 7:00 p.m. The winner of the CCHS-Pontotoc game will play the winner of the New Hope-Canton game on Nov. 22 in the second round of the playoffs.