BLYTHEWOOD – The Westwood Redhawks went into Friday’s night game against the Richland Northeast Cavaliers needing a win or a Lancaster Bruins loss to clinch a four-seed in the Region 4A State Playoffs. The outcome of the Lancaster game would not matter because Westwood ran all over the Cavaliers for a 39-10 victory.
Jaylon Riley (3) tears through the Richland defensive much like he did all night. | photos/Leroy Howard
Jaylon Riley and Ahmon Green ran roughshod over the Cavaliers defense all game. Riley had 171 yards on 25 attempts with a touchdown run, and Green crossed the 100-yard plateau with 107 yards on just seven carries and also had a touchdown of his own.
Senior Redhawk quarterback Elijah Heatley returned this week, and the week off did not seem to effect his accuracy. Heatley took 18 pass attempts this week and had 193 yards passing, along with three touchdown tosses.
Heatley put the Redhawks on the board first with an early touchdown pass to Cam Atkins. After the two-yard Westwood passing score, the Cavaliers marched down the field and stuffed the ball in on a game-tying, rushing touchdown.
The 7-7 tie lasted until David Strother split the uprights on a 27-yard field goal that propelled the Redhawks back to the lead, and from there they did look back. Westwood stretched the lead out to ten later in the second on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Heatley to Cortes Braham.
Braham was another dangerous offensive weapon for the explosive Redhawk offense. The big receiver scorched the Cavalier secondary to the tune of 118 yards on four receptions, two of which were touchdown grabs.
Cam Atkins (11) secured the first Westwood score of the night with this two-yard touchdown reception.
The 17-7 lead stayed untouched until the beginning of the third quarter when Jaylon Riley sputtered through the holes in the Cavalier’s defensive line for a 15-yard rushing touchdown. Heatley and Braham padded their stats with another long touchdown pass. This time it was a 54-yard bomb.
Richland Northeast took a small bite out of the 32-7 lead with a short-field goal near the end of the third, but the fat lady was already tuning up her band. Ahmon Green’s six-yard rushing score in the fourth insured there would be no miraculous Cavalier comeback attempt on the Redhawks senior night.
The 29-point win puts the brakes on a three-game losing skid and eliminated the Cavaliers from playoff contention. Westwood finished the season 5-5 overall with a 2-3 regional record after the win.
Westwood secured the four-seed in the playoffs and will travel to Augusta to face the number one-seeded North Augusta Yellowjackets.
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: WHS – Jaylon Riley 25-171, Joshua Heyward 6-9, Ahmon Green 7-107, Elijah Heatley 1-10, Kevonte Miller 2-2, Phillip Hedrick 1 – (-4).
PASSING: WHS – Elijah Heatley 13-18 193 yards, three touchdowns.
RECEIVING: WHS – Montre Miller 4-41, Cortes Braham 4-118, Daquan Wise 2-19, Cam Atkins 3-15.
