Late Fumble Dooms Cherryville In Loss To Community School of Davidson

                The state playoffs feature a lot of conference rematches. One of those rematches is the Community School of Davidson Spartans at the Cherryville Ironmen. The Spartans defeated the Ironmen earlier this year 42-36 so they were hoping for some payback.

                Things started off good for Cherryville as they would score on their first drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Jayden Blanton (PAT good). Davidson would tie it up in the second quarter with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Austin Fekete to Ryan Renshaw (PAT good). The Ironmen retook the lead with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Harden to Sean Kostiuk (PAT good).  

                The teams would exchange turnovers late in the first half. A fumble near midfield kept the Spartans from being able to tie the game. Andrew Beam of Cherryville intercepted a half-back pass from Langston Samples. The Spartans' Devin Carbonaro intercepted a pass from Dylan Harden near the goal line toward the end of the half. The Ironmen would lead 14-7 at half-time.

                In the second half, the Spartans tied the game up again when Fekete connected with Langston Samples for a six-yard touchdown pass (PAT good). The Ironmen retook the lead early in the fourth quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by Jayden Blanton (PAT good). But the play that seemed to turn the game around took place on the next drive. In punt formation, kicker/punter Caden Bonoffski made a 28-yard pass to Brandon Ellington to keep the Spartans in business. They capitalized on the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run by Cameron McDonnell (PAT good).

                The Ironmen were unable to get a drive going after that. The Spartans took the lead for the first time with 4:35 to go when Fekete connected with Ryan Renshaw for another touchdown pass. This one was from 35 yards out (PAT good). The Ironmen made a key fourth down pass when Harden connected with Matt Cain to keep the potential game-tying drive alive. But the fumble that took place a play later would seal the deal.

                Jayden Blanton led the Cherryville offense with 149 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Austin Fekete led the Sparans offense with 182 yards passing and three touchdowns.