Hampton, Locklear lead Cleveland to first round win
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CLAYTON — Cleveland’s sophomore duo of Omarion Hampton and Skyler Locklear led the team to a gritty win over Cape Fear in the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-AA playoffs at home on a wet Friday night.
The 34-13 win was the Ram’s seventh straight win of the season and 11th in 12 games this season. Hampton got his great night started with a 45-yard touchdown run. Hampton finished the night with 203 rushing yards, eight receiving yards and three total touchdowns. The sophomore, who holds an offer from Duke, also crossed 2,000 yards in a single season. Hampton appears to be about 80 yards from the school’s single season rushing yard record, according to MaxPreps.
Locklear threw one touchdown to Hampton and another to Isaiah Sawyer while running one in. The sophomore quarterback totaled up 135 yards passing on 5-of-14 passing while running four times for 55 yards. Locklear is up to 2,280 yards passing while completing 62.9 percent of his passes with a 32-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
The defense was superb as usual. Since giving up 36 points in a loss to Cardinal Gibbons on September 20, the Rams have allowed just 52 points during the seven game win streak. It was junior Trey Robinson’s constant pressure on the quarterback in the second half that closed out the win as he tallied 4 sacks. Robinson finished with eight tackles total. Senior Dakota Marquess led the team in tackles with 11, which broke the school record for tackles in a single season. Junior Hunter Morris also notched seven tackles to bring his season total to 110. Senior Garrett Paris put up three tackles and a sack. Isaiah Stephenson also had a tackle and a sack. The Rams will play D.H. Conley on the road in round two. Conley and Cleveland met last year in the playoffs, where the Rams won 40-35.
