Cleveland vs. Lee County pairs similar teams in Round 3 of prep football playoffs
When Cleveland football coach Scott Riley watches film of Lee County, his team’s next opponent, it almost feels like he’s looking at his own team.
There are a lot of similarities between the Yellow Jackets and the Rams. Both teams run a spread attack, have big running backs and are willing to run the football. Defensively, both teams run a 3-4 attack and dominated their competition by controlling the game on both sides of the ball.
When the Yellow Jackets (13-0) host the Rams (12-1) on Friday in the playoffs, it will be a showdown of teams that probably had an easy time scouting each other. That doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges ahead for Riley and his team.
“They got like four guys who are going Division I next year,” Riley told the N&O in a phone interview on Tuesday. “And four more going in the future. They have a lot of talent and they are well coached. It’s a challenge you expect in the third round. At this point I don’t expect any bad football teams left in the state.”
This is the first trip to the third round of the playoffs for Lee County since 2016. Cleveland advanced to the 3AA eastern region finals last year.
The Rams have an advantage in rushing (265.2 to 235.7) and passing (184.6 to 142.6) yards per game. Lee County’s defensive secondary, led by UNC commit Jayden Chalmers, has 17 interceptions this season, compared to 15 from the Rams.
Cleveland averaged 54.4 points per game in conference play, while Lee County averaged 46.8. The defenses were equally impressive. The Yellow Jackets surrendered 7.2 points per game in league play, the Rams only gave up 16 points in five conference games and had three shutouts.
Conference play seemed easy for Cleveland but Riley has been impressed by how his team has risen to the challenge of playing better opponents the last two weeks. He liked how they were able to match the physicality of Cape Fear in the first round and that helped the following week against D.H. Conley.
“We knew we had to bring it and our guys have kind of embraced that,” Riley said. “That’s helped us out. This team had been geared all year to what we do after the regular season.”
Friday’s games to watch
3AA
(1) Lee County (13-0) vs. (5) Cleveland (12-1)
Players to watch
Desmond Evans (Lee County): The future Tar Heel has 10 sacks this season and 27 tackles for loss.
Omarion Hampton (Cleveland): Last week, Hampton rushed for 213 yards and three touchdowns against D.H. Conley. Hampton has rushed for 2,280 yards and 32 touchdowns this season.
Last week
Lee County defeated Southern Alamance, 33-12.
Cleveland defeated D.H. Conley, 35-14.
4AA
(1)Wake Forest (11-1) vs. (4) Hoggard (6-5)
Players to watch
Hezekiah Foster (Wake Forest): The Cougars’ linebacker had six tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks against Rolesville.
Sam Jones (Hoggard): Last week, Jones got his first varsity start and led the Vikings to a big win over Apex Friendship. He went 11-for-13 for 99 yards and one touchdown.
Last week
Wake Forest defeated Rolesville, 26-14
Hoggard defeated Apex-Friendship, 40-23.
(2) Leesville Road (11-0) vs. (6) Garner (7-5)
Players to watch
Treyvon Coleman (Leesville Road): Senior defensive back finished with 11 tackles and two sacks.
Derrick Alston (Garner): Trojans’ running back has rushed for 1,347 yards and 15 touchdowns this season.
Last week
Leesville Road defeated Hoke County, 43-7.
Garner, bye week.
4A
(1) New Bern (10-2) vs. (4) Cardinal Gibbons (10-2)
Player to watch
Kahmaad Scriven (New Bern): Rushed for 119 yards last week against Seventy-First.
Jack Grazen (Cardinal Gibbons): Carried the ball 17 times for 210 yards and two touchdowns.
Last week
New Bern defeated Seventy-First, 20-6.
Leesville Road defeated Heritage, 42-0.
This story was originally published November 28, 2019 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Cleveland vs. Lee County pairs similar teams in Round 3 of prep football playoffs."
