Cleveland mercy-rules Cibola on special night

On Oct. 20, Cleveland High School mercy-ruled Cibola High School at 61-7 to improve to 6-3 on the season and 3-0 in district play.

In their last home game of the regular season, Cleveland scored 61 points as Cibola scored a lone touchdown to avoid the shutout. The mercy rule stopped the game with 4:45 left to go in the fourth quarter.

It was a memorable night at Lightning Bolt Stadium; it was a pink-out for fans for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Cleveland Hall of Fame Class of 2023 was recognized, the Cleveland marching band had its senior night, and Cleveland football dominated the gridiron.

Cleveland started out hot in the first quarter, scoring five of their nine touchdowns in one quarter.

The majority of touchdowns came from senior running back Harris Mbueha, including a 68-yard run to the house.

“Three years playing … I love the people, I love the chemistry, I love the fans, I love my teammates; it’s a blessing to play on this field,” Mbueha said.

Mbueha scored three rushing touchdowns on the night — all in the first quarter.

Cleveland senior Jaden Davis also scored two touchdowns on the night: a 46-yard touchdown catch from sophomore quarterback Jordan Hatch and a 54-yard punt return for a touchdown one minute into the second quarter.

“We have an awesome tradition here; everything has started since January. We have been grinding, we have been grinding for this,” Davis said. “No sir, this will not be the last home game here; hopefully we get ranked up number one and get home advantage.”

Davis has committed to playing baseball at New Mexico State University next fall and is a three-sport athlete at Cleveland.

Other Cleveland players scoring touchdowns were senior running back and linebacker Isaac Medrano, junior tight end Jon Baca, and junior running back and wide receiver Isaiah Yannis.

Yannis’s touchdown was the curtain call and ended the game.

Cleveland’s defense controlled the line of scrimmage most of the night, and every yard was hard to come by for Cibola.

In the first half, Cleveland allowed less than 50 yards and sacked the quarterback four times; senior Stratton Shufelt had 1 1/2 sacks, Medrano had one sack, senior defensive lineman Chuka Tutman had half a sack — and a receiving TD, and junior defensive lineman Psalmon Kegler had a sack.

Cleveland’s defense also produced a plethora of turnovers as they intercepted the ball four times. Cleveland senior safety Malachi Jaramillo accounted for two of those interceptions, both in the first half. Other Cleveland players getting picks were senior defensive back Aidan Joyner and sophomore linebacker Elijah Richards.

“We’re back, we’re on track; this district is ours; the state is ours; we are coming!” Mbueha said.

Cleveland will play Rio Rancho Oct. 27 for the District 1-6A title at Rio Rancho High School in the much-anticipated City of Vision Championship Game, the regular season finale for both teams. Kickoff is 6 p.m.