By: Brayden Peters
CLEVELAND HILL, NY - The first quarter roars of the Royalton-Hartland/Barker football team's sideline were quickly silenced, as the Cleveland Hill Golden Eagles shut them out 28-0. The loss ends the Bulls' hopes of making the playoffs. Eight of the Bulls’ 11 drives ended in Cleveland Hill territory, none of them resulting in a score. Two of them ended inside the red zone.
“We couldn’t find the end zone,” Royalton-Hartland/Barker head coach CJ Knight said. “We were within their 20-yard line four or five times, and we just got plateaued. We couldn’t get over the hump.”
The offensive rushing attack was led by junior quarterback Tysen McCaa. He accounted for 91 of the Bulls’ 123 rushing yards on 10 carries. He also was quiet throwing the ball, going 1-of-7 for 34 yards and two interceptions. Sophomore wide receiver and running back Carter Dersarkissian was credited with the catch.
Although McCaa was solid on the ground, turnovers were an issue for the Bulls. They gave up the ball four times on two interceptions and two fumbles.
“We’re going to work on blocking and execution,” McCaa said. “Less fumbles, less turnovers, keep the ball longer.”
Defensively, Royalton-Hartland had trouble against the run. They gave up 324 yards that came on the ground. The positives defensively were that Dersarkissian had an interception and senior defensive lineman Caleb Alexander had a pair of tackles for loss.
“We got to tackle,” Dersarkissian said. “We got to stop the run. I think our pass defense is good. We just got to stop the run.”
The Bulls were active early in the first quarter. On the Golden Eagles’ first drive of the game, senior quarterback London Thomas threw an interception on third-and-19 to Dersarkissian. He was able to bring the ball to Cleveland Hill’s 28-yard line.
Cleveland Hill drew first blood to open the second quarter. A 57-yard drive was capped off by a 27-yard rushing touchdown from senior fullback Aidan Lyons. The Golden Eagles attempted a two-point conversion, which was successful after senior running back Perrion Wardlaw ran the ball into the end zone from two yards out.
The Golden Eagles began to extend their lead as on a long 11-play drive from the Bulls’ 30-yard line, Thomas punched the ball into the end zone from a yard out. A failed two-point conversion attempt made it a 14-0 game in favor of the Golden Eagles.
After an unsuccessful drive for Royalton-Hartland/Barker in the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles added onto their lead thanks to an 8-yard rushing touchdown from Thomas. Although they were unsuccessful again on a two-point conversion attempt, Cleveland Hill found themselves up by three scores with a 20-0 lead.
Cleveland Hill continued to punish the Bulls on the ground. On their tenth drive of the game, senior running back Douglas Hunt took the ball 25-yards to the house. It was capped off by a successful two-point conversion attempt on a two-yard run from Lyons to give the Golden Eagles a 28-0 lead.
To add the cherry on top, on the Bulls’ first play of their final drive, Mayfield Jr. picked off McCaa for his second interception of the game. The Golden Eagles chewed up the clock after an interception made by Mayfield Jr. to secure their 28-0 victory.
The Bulls remain in last place in Section VI Class C North with their loss today. They will search for their first win of the season when they host WNY Maritime/Tapestry next Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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