by High School Football is back in Cleveland, Ohio and that means the city is ready for some good ole barn burning football! With that being said, the Cleveland Heights Tigers opened up their season at home vs the Trotwood-Madison Rams in a back and forth battle… for who could gain the most yards.
This game was a slow yet entertaining one, especially if you enjoy chess matches. Final Score ended at 6-0 in favor of the Tigers. While each team fought for who could rack up the most yards, I can say their were some highlights that show what each team is capable of. I’m going to point out some key moments and stats from this game.
To begin the game, Trotwood won the toss and chose to kick which backfired on their end and gave up the only touchdown of the game. Cleveland Heights was able to assert their dominance. What stood out the most for them was their running back #12, and senior, Marquise Davis. The University of Kentucky commit and reigning Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year is expected to lead the Tigers’ offense for the year and he did just that. He was the highlight of the game, in their first drive especially. With 10:31 left in the 1st quarter, Davis Broke out for a 35 yard touchdown pushing through defenders as if he was a man amongst boys. He showed great resilience to Trotwood’s defense, totaling 84 yards and 13 carries. Unfortunately, Davis went out with an injury in the 2nd quarter of the 1st of many fumbles throughout this game.
The running game was main point of emphasis for the tigers with multiple players having good yardage gained from the rush, here are some other stat lines to highlight the Heights Tigers:
- Henry Perrymond- 2 rushes 14 yards
- Marcellus Hanms 14 rushes 11 yards
- Atkins- 12 rushes 33 yards( Also 2 receptions for 6 yards)
- Justin Godbuit- 3/6 pass 11 yards, 1 Int; 3 rushes 23 yards
- Totals: Rushing: 119 yards – Passing: 11 yards= 130 total yards gained with 1 touchdown
In terms of Trotwood-Madison, they couldn’t really get anything going all around. Their best option was the pass game but was not enough to put points on the board. Going into the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarter, both crowds were waiting on another score but ultimately good defense was played on both sides. Multiple fumbles on both sides(6total, 5 loss). It was a great display of a chess match between both teams with each QB facing tough pass rush defense.
All in all, regardless of how many points that were put on the board, the Cleveland Heights Tigers came away with the win and on to the next one in Detroit Michigan on 8/30/24 vs Detroit Martin Luther King. Will Marquise be healthy enough to come back and lead this team once more? Only time will tell but tonight is something to hang their hats on with the first victory of the season!
