CLEVELAND – With the team’s starting quarterback sidelined after a hard hit a week earlier, Falkville struggled offensively in a 66-9 loss to Cleveland on the road Friday night.
Cleveland had three touchdowns of 67 yards or longer on the way to the Class 2A, Region 7 victory.
Falkville scored all of its points in the first half.
“We just shot ourselves in the foot too many times,” said Falkville head coach Brent Vest. “We’re just not competing right now. We were just over-matched in the game.”
Falkville will return to action this week at home against Oakman. The two teams have split their four meetings, but Falkville has won both games at Burl Vest Stadium.
Falkville stayed close with Cleveland through the first quarter before the Panthers took advantage of several key Falkville mistakes.
Drew Nall kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:47 remaining in the first quarter to help the Blue Devils trim Cleveland’s lead to 6-3.
But Cleveland returned the kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and the Panthers never looked back.
Cleveland added a touchdown on a return of an interception to give the Panthers a 21-3 advantage.
Chad Kirkpatrick scored on a 7-yard run for the Blue Devils just before the end of the first half.
Cleveland broke the game open in the second half, scoring 45 points in 24 minutes of play. The Panthers scored twice following Falkville fumbles deep in Cleveland territory.
Cleveland improved to 2-1 both overall and in region play, while Falkville dropped to 0-3 on the season.
“We’re missing a lot of people right now and it’s kind of like patchwork,” Vest said. “We just have to get back to work and get ready for Oakman.”