L.D. BRUCE FIELD — The Cedar Bluff Tigers hit visiting Akron with both barrels Friday night, running and passing for over 350 yards of offense on the way to a 47-0 route of the visiting Rams here Friday night in round one of the Class 1A state football playoffs.

Running back Bam Henderson gained 158 yards on 23 carries and Levi Mintz completed 10 of 12 passes for 181 yards and a pair of touchdowns – including one to Henderson – as the Tigers (6-5) advanced to round two. They travel to No.7-ranked Marion County (10-1) this week.

DeAngelo Hardy caught six passes for 135 yards and a score for the Tigers.
Cedar Bluff head coach Jonathan McWhorter said the mix of run and pass was the perfect combination for his team’s opening-round game.

“We knew coming into this year we would probably have to be a little more run-heavy than we were last year,” McWhorter said. “We still have some receivers we feel good about, but our offensive line has come along and our running backs have come along.”

Henderson scored the first touchdown of the night on a four-yard run with 8:20 remaining in the opening quarter. Curtis Abernathy’s point-after kick made the score 7-0.

Henderson squirted through the middle of the Akron defense on the first play of Cedar Bluff’s next possession and outran all 11 Rams defenders to the goal line from 46 yards out. Abernathy missed the kick, giving the Tigers a 13-0 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the first.

Mintz finished off an 85-yard drive from four yards out late in the second quarter, increasing the lead to 21-0 after his successful conversion pass to Hardy. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the half, Mintz connected with Henderson from 30 yards to run the halftime score to 28-0.

The Tigers came out throwing in the third. Beginning on his own 48-yard line, Mintz completed 3-of-4 passes for 61 yards, including a 23-yard scoring strike to Hardy on an out route into the corner of the end zone. Hardy dove for the catch, lost his balance, but stayed on his feet long enough to dive past the pylon. Abernathy’s booming kick sailed through the uprights to increase the lead to 35-0.

Henderson scored his final touchdown of the night on a five-yard run with 2:31 left in the third.

Senior Hayden Hackett scored Cedar Bluff’s final six points on an eight-yard run with 8:13 left in the game.

Akron managed less than 70 yards of offense in the game. In nine possessions, the Rams went three-and-out five times. The closest they came to scoring was an attempted 31-yard field goal in the middle of the second quarter. Akron’s leading running back, Kion Taylor, was killed in a car accident on Oct. 14.

McWhorter, who said the Cedar Bluff Booster Club was planning to feed the Akron players after the game, commended the coaching staff for their perseverance despite such a devastating loss.

“I have a lot of respect for Akron and their people,” McWhorter said. “They’re trying to hold the team together. They’ve been through a lot and have still continued. I just have a lot of respect for them.”

With his performance in round one, Henderson went over 1,000 yards for the season. The junior has 1,008 yards on 174 carries and has scored 13 touchdowns.