Cloudland leaning on trademarked physicality in 2025

ROAN MOUNTAIN — Last November was an unusually quiet one on top of Roan Mountain for the Cloudland Highlanders.For the first time since 2011, Cloudland football did not host at least one postseason game in 2024. The Highlanders instead traveled to Oliver Springs for their first-round matchup and saw their season come to an end after a 4-5 campaign.In order to see playoff football return to Orr Field, 'Landers head coach Zac Benfield said the biggest key is in the trenches."We can't have penalties," Benfield said. "We had so many self-inflicted penalties last year, it was embarrassing. That starts with me, starts with the staff. We've got to really stick it into their brains that we're a good football team. But you can't beat good football teams when you hurt yourself consistently. So we have to work on not beating ourselves, penalty- wise. And on being disciplined and doing the little things right all the time, not just sometimes."If the line is able to create the adequate room to work, Cloudland returns one of the area's top rushers in junior running back Grayson Cole.Cole broke on to the map as a freshman, racking up four touchdowns in a win against Unaka. Then last season, the Highlander runner accounted for 1,104 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns, both in the top-five of all of Northeast Tennessee."If you look at his lower body, you look at his legs, you look at his upper body, he's built good," Benfield said. "He's strong, he's durable. But more than anything, he's a good leader."Benfield added that, while Cole may be the headliner, junior Landon Barnette and sophomore Gavyn Shell will need to play in big roles for the Highlander rushing attack to flourish."Having Landon and Gavyn, I think will benefit Grayson because defenses aren't going to be able to key on Grayson," he said. "If they do, then hopefully Landon and Gavyn can run for 200-plus (yards)."With the Highlanders in Region 1-1A, the expectation for most everyone in the league is to be able to run the ball, and to be able to stop the run on defense.Overall, Cloudland had success on that side of the football, allowing just 123 total points in 2024. It's a mark that put them fourth in the area, trailing just South Greene, Greeneville, and Happy Valley.Once again, success will come up front, led by one of the team's seniors."We've gotten stronger," Benfield said. "Tristen Hoss is coming off an ACL injury. He got hurt against Johnson County last year. We had struggled before then, but he hadn't struggled at all. He was a stud. He's came back and been deliberate and intentional in his rehabilitation process."Cloudland will spend the first half of the season on the road, and for good reason.Orr Field will become an artificial playing surface for the Highlanders, going from grass to turf. All four Carter County Schools will see turf go into their football fields, with Happy Valley also undergoing the transformation ahead of 2025."I didn't think we'd see artificial turf from here all the way until you got past Greene County, as far as county schools," Benfield said. "As long as it benefits the kids, that's what we're after."The Highlanders open the season on Aug. 22 at Midway before starting league play on Sept. 12, when they travel to Hancock County.The game most Carter County natives will have circled will come on Halloween, when Cloudland plays host to Hampton. The Bulldogs have won the last seven meetings, but for the first time in over a decade, it will be a region game."Whenever I was in high school, it was always us and Hampton playing for the conference championship, week 10, late October," Benfield said. "I think it's a good thing. Having those rivalries, just like in college, benefits everybody. I think that's what makes sports, sports."Cloudland RosterNo. Name Class15 Landon Street Fr.60 Brendon Polechio Fr.75 Elijah Jordan Fr.75 Mason Johnson Fr.44 Wyatt Dellinger Fr.24 Austin Simerly So.11 Gavyn Shell So.5 William Polechio So.57 Larry Hernandez So.74 Gabe Barnett So.71 Jacob Withee Jr.0 Grayson Cole Jr.8 Landon Barnette Jr.67 Dominick Banner Jr.69 Ethan McCracken Jr.56 Bryson Peppers Sr.72 Caleb Ledford Sr.33 Tyler Jordan Sr.55 Tristen Hoss Sr.1 Walker Gouge Sr.2 Bryce Birchfield Sr.13 Colin Davis Sr.Head coach: Zac Benfield