LANCASTER – The rough beginning to the 2018 season continued this week for the Fairfield Central Griffins after they came up empty handed for the second week in a row on their road trip to Lancaster. Bruins quarterback Kemarkio Cloud stole the show, and his performance powered Lancaster’s 47-18 outing. The Griffins dropped to 0-2 ahead of their televised showdown next week against Blythewood.
Jacob McManus (10) leaves it all out with his stellar aerial reception. | Joe Seibles
“Over the year we do try to play some of the 4A’s and 5A’s early to kind of get us prepared for November and December,” Griffins’ head coach Demetrius Davis said. “I think over the years that’s helped us during region.”
Cloud sunk his hooks deep into the Griffins’ defense in the first quarter, and would not relinquish his grip the entire game. He rang up the Griffins the first time only three minutes in after he broke through the defensive line, untouched, for a 40-yard touchdown.
“He’s a big kid that can run,” Davis said. “He was very, very impressive. He threw the ball and ran the ball far more than we anticipated. They’re a seasoned a group, they started eight seniors on their offense. When you have that many seniors on a unit they’re going to be pretty good.”
His second score came on the Bruins’ next possession. The Lancaster forced the first Griffins’ drive into a three-and-out, and forced the early punt. Then later in Bruins drive, Asonta Clark busted through the Fairfield defensive live to successfully convert a fourth-and-one conversion. Cloud scored on the very next play courtesy of a 35-yard quarterback keeper.
Freshman quarterback Stephon Gadsen hooked up with Will Barber for a 29-yard strike on the Griffins’ next offensive possession. That was their only first down in the first quarter and they were not able to convert it to anything meaningful.
A couple of costly penalties nearly put a damper on the Bruins next drive, and they faced a third-and-eight from their own 35. That’s when Cloud turned on the jets again for a 65-yard touchdown, his third of the quarter.
The second quarter quieted down, and both defense found their rhythm, until Lancaster found the end-zone again with two minutes left before halftime. This time it was Cloud, instead sophomore Kendric Watts took an 18-yard handoff to the house. The Bruins were up 27-0 at half.
Will Barber, a constant big-play threat for the Griffins, put Fairfield on the board in the opening moments of the second half. He took a handoff just 15 seconds into the third quarter, and made everybody miss on his way to an 80-yard score.
“He’s a football player,” Davis said about Barber. “He is kind of the guy that stirs our drink. We’ve been thoroughly excited with him and Stephon (Gadsen) our quarterback. We feel like he gets a little better each week also.”
Then the teams traded shots back and forth. Asonta Clark countered Will Barber’s big touchdown with an eight-yard score out of the Bruins’ backfield. Less than five minutes later, Gadson found Jacob McManus from 19 yards away. Cloud did not let the score go without a response. He used his arm this time, and made the 53-yard connection WyQuan Massey as time dripped away in the third quarter.
Barber made another explosive play in the fourth quarter in what turned out to the Griffins’ last score. A couple of minutes into the fourth, Barber fielded the Bruins punt in his own territory and scampered 60 yards to pay-dirt. That was Barber’s second punt return touchdown of the season.
The usual suspect Kamarkio Cloud closed the doors on the Griffins with an emphatic 44-yard touchdown scramble. Fairfield host the Blythewood Bengals next week. The Bengals’ record sits at 1-1 after their loss to Westwood.
“It’s tough, especially when you have a group of kids that’s accustomed to winning,” Davis said. “We just kind of have to get them to the point where they realize that they can just get better every game and hopefully it’ll pay off in November and December.”
Scoring
FCHS– 0-0-12-6-18
LHS– 20-7-13-7-47
First Quarter
LHS– Kemarkio Cloud 40 run. (Jacob Cato kick).9:37.
LHS– K.Cloud 35 run. (J.Cato kick).6:14.
LHS– K.Cloud 66 run. (J.Cato kick no good).1:02.
Second Quarter
LHS– Kendric Watts 15 run. (J.Cato kick no good).2:05.
Third Quarter
FCHS– Will Barber 80 run. (Chris Suber run no good).11:43.
LHS– Asonta Clark 8 run. (Will Corso kick no good).8:40.
FCHS– Jacob McManus 19 pass from Stephon Gadsen.(J.McManus pass incomplete).3:59.
LHS– WyQuan Massey 53 pass from K.Cloud.(J.Cato kick).1:34.
Fourth Quarter
FCHS– W.Barber 60 punt return. (Edwin Aguilera kick no good). 9:21.
LHS– K.Cloud 44 run.(J.Cato kick). 7:08.
TEAM STATS FCHS LHS
First Downs 12 13
Rushes/Yards 25-154 38-439
Passing Yards 208 158
C-A-I-TD 14-24-1-1 6-8-0-1
Fumbles/ Lost 0/0 0/0
Penalties/Yards 14-99 4-45
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing: LHS- Kemarkio Cloud 10-231, Nigel Moore 9-101, Asonta Clark 7-38, Kendric Watts 6-33, WyQuan Massey 2-17, Zach Truesdale 2-15, J.P. Cunningham 2-4. FCHS- Will Barber 10-106, Devin Johnson 6-6, Stephon Gadsen 5-6, CJ Brown 2-12, Justice Boyd 1-12, Smaj Young 1-12.
Receiving: LHS- WyQuan Massey 1-53, Phillip Mickles 4-38, J.P. Cunningham 1-7. FCHS-
Jacob McManus 5-67, Will Barber 3-44, Justice Boyd 2-64, JR Edmonds 2-34, CJ Simmons 2-(-1).
Passing: LHS- Kemarkio Cloud 6-8, 158 yards, one touchdown. FCHS- Stephon Gadsen 14-24, 208 yards, one touchdown, one interception.