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Eagles drown Lakemen; will face Golden Falcons
 | | ELECTRIFYING...Cleveland Hill quarterback Rhakeem Wiggins leaves Wilson defenders in his dust on his way to a 65- yard touchdown run in the third quarter Saturday. Escorting Wiggins on the left is running back Peter Westbrooks. The two combined for five scores and nearly 300 yards, as the Eagles routed the Lakemen, 30-6. (Times photo) |
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Cleveland Hill's 1-2 punch and ground attack of quarterback Rhakeem Wiggins and running back Peter Westbrooks ran all over visiting Wilson Saturday, rushing for a combined 299 yards and five touchdowns, leading the Golden Eagles to a 30-6 romp over the Lakemen.
Blustery conditions in the Class C semifinal contest made the first half tough on both teams, with the roaring wind eliminating any chance of a passing attack. Sloppy play continued all through the opening half, as teams traded punts, fumbles and turnovers-on-downs (including a four plays- and- out drive by Wilson starting at the Cleve Hill 29) until the final drive of the second quarter, which yielded a Cleve Hill touchdown on a one-yard run by Westbrooks.
 | | STEADY...Cleveland Hill's Jacob Zielinski holds for a kickoff Saturday against Wilson, as fans of the Lakemen watched their team get overwhelmed by the Eagles. (Times photo) |
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A worsening of conditions did not hamper Cleve Hill's play. In fact, the Golden Eagles took off just as the driving rain began to soak everything in sight. On the opening play of the second half, Westbrooks took the handoff from Wiggins and set the tempo for the rest of the game with an electrifying 63-yard touchdown, bouncing from the middle to the outside and sprinting untouched.
There was no looking back for the Golden Eagles after that, as they scored three more unanswered touchdowns, all by Wiggins, including a fantastic 65-yard scamper down the right sideline for a Cleve Hill touchdown. Wilson did not get on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter, when the final nail had been driven into their proverbial coffin.
Wiggins finished with 136 yards on 15 carries, including three touch- downs, and Westbrooks finished the game with 153 yards on 17 carries and two runs to pay dirt.
Defensively, senior defensive lineman Mike Golombek led the locals with nine tackles and a sack, while junior Curtis Hairston added eight stops and two sacks. Also contributing sacks were Westbrooks, senior linebacker James Griffin, senior Zack Eldridge and junior Fred McIntosh.
With the victory, Cleve Hill (7-2 overall) advanced to the Section VI, Class C finals for the first time in four years, where they will face the 7-2 Falconer Golden Falcons tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Eagles head coach Glen Graham, who is making his first coaching appearance at "The Ralph," said Wilson gave Cleve Hill everything it could handle for a while Saturday.
"They gave us fits for the first 20 minutes of the game," the fourthyear coach said. "We made some adjustments. It was a great game plan by Wilson but we managed to come through eventually...(Going to "The Ralph") feels really good. The kids deserve it."
Graham added that he is confident his team can win against Falconer as long as its run-first mentality pays dividends, adding that steady play would help them overcome last year's confident, experienced Class C champions.
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