STRONG – Given the seasons LaQuincy Shelton and Byron Maze have had, it can be easy to overlook the contributions of Treveon Daniels.
But on Friday night, the senior took center stage, scoring four touchdowns total as Strong opened the postseason in rousing fashion by keeping their unblemished season intact with a 52-0 win over Cedar Ridge in the first round of the 2A 8-Man playoffs at Jerry Burson Field.
Strong now stands just one win away from playing for a state title in their first season of playing eight-man football.
The Bulldogs (9-0), the No. 1 seed from the South, will take on a familiar foe in the semifinals.
Brinkley (6-3), the No. 2 seed from the North, advanced with a 22-8 win over Woodlawn.
The Bulldogs and Tigers met back on Oct. 1 with Strong winning 32-6 at home.
Since that loss, the Tigers have been on a roll, winning their last four games and five of their last six games overall.
The Bulldogs never gave the Timberwolves (2-7), the North’s No. 4 seed, any chance of pulling off an upset thanks to jumping out to a 30-0 lead at the end of the opening period.
Daniels played a pivotal role in Strong’s surge, scoring on touchdown runs of 9 and 18 yards with Shelton adding the two-point conversion on Daniels’ second score to make it 14-0.
Shelton himself found the end zone on a 19-yard run while also adding the two-point conversion to push the lead to 22-0.
Caneilus Betters scored on a 9-yard run with Shelton’s third two-point conversion of the period extending the lead to 30-0.
The Bulldogs then put the game away in the second period with their defense scoring twice.
Daniels scored on a 1-yard run for his third touchdown on offense and Shelton’s two-point conversion run made it 38-0.
Cedrick Brown picked off a pass and returned it 46 yards to paydirt for Strong’s first defensive touchdown with Shelton’s two-point conversion making it 46-0.
Fittingly, it was Daniels who closed the scoring after returning an interception 84 yards for a score.
The two scores by Strong’s defense gives the unit three in the last three games.