How Cleveland bounced back from losing its best player, and advanced to 3AA title game
Cleveland star running back Omarion Hampton was having a typical Omarion Hampton season.
The four-star recruit, who has scholarship offers from Auburn, UNC, Florida, Ohio State and Penn State, among others, was off to an amazing start to his junior year. Then in the fifth game of the season, against rival Clayton, Hampton (6-0, 215) broke his ankle.
That next week, Rams head coach Scott Riley started getting the phone calls from fans offering their condolences.
“I had some people call me and be like, ‘Man, I thought you guys had a chance to win a state championship this year,’ ” Riley told The News & Observer. “Our thought was, ‘We still do because we have a really good team.’ ”
Riley was 100 percent correct. On Thursday, Cleveland (10-0) will be playing in its first NCHSAA state championship game. The Rams will take on Mount Tabor (10-0) at 7 p.m. at Kenan Stadium in the 3AA title game.
It will be the first trip to the title game for Cleveland, which fielded a varsity team for the first time in 2011. As the Rams defeated rival Clayton last week in the eastern regional final, Hampton watched from the sideline with a boot on his foot, sitting on a scooter.
The No. 4 player in North Carolina finished his junior season with 685 yards and 13 touchdowns. In two-and-a-half seasons, he has accounted for 3,421 rushing yards and 49 touchdowns. With that kind of talent, clearly the most talented player on the roster in a walking boot, it’s easy to see why some outsiders were ready to throw in the towel on any hopes of a state title.
But Riley and his staff knew they were more than a one-man gang.
“We have a lot of players who have put in a lot of work to get here,” Riley said. “At the same time, there’s a lot of talent on this team. I’m not that good of a coach, we just have really good football players.”
Handling adversity
Riley should probably give himself a little more credit. He’s won 72 games since taking over as the head coach in 2014, and Cleveland has been one of the top programs in the area.
Sure, Hampton has helped boost their stock the past two seasons, but the Rams and Riley had a solid foundation for years. This year it all happened to come together. Even without their star running back taking snaps, Riley feels he has been a big reason why they have excelled.
“I told Omarion after the (Clayton) game that just because he didn’t play he’s still a big part of the success, the continued success because of how he prepares,” Riley said. “These kids, just trying to keep up with him and how hard he works, have really prepared themselves for this run, with or without him. Obviously, a lot of it goes to the kids, but Omarion’s leadership by example the last three years and how hard he works in the weight room and watching film and all that kind of stuff, it’s contagious when your best player is doing that kind of thing.”
When Hampton went down, Riley admitted it was a bit of a shock to the rest of the team at first. But one thing he has learned about his group is they can bounce back from adversity. It could be a 14-point margin in the eastern regional, or their best player out, the resiliency of this team has impressed its head coach.
“This team has handled adversity better than anyone else we’ve been around,” Riley said. “A lot of that is out of necessity. With COVID, if you didn’t handle adversity well you probably didn’t make the team because you weren’t eligible with grades. I think just dealing with the pandemic taught everyone how to deal with adversity.”
Even when Hampton got hurt the Rams had to shake off a bad third quarter and outscore the Comets 14-0 in the fourth for a seven-point win. Riley felt like when it comes to things the players can control themselves, they thrive.
“That’s just kind of what they’ve done all year,” Riley said. “When the pandemic started a lot of that stuff was out of their control, and they knew they were going to have a good team and just wanted an opportunity to get on the field. Once they got that opportunity they were going to do everything in their power to make sure the season went along as it could and here we are playing on May 6.”
Players stepping up
When Hampton became a full-time starter as a sophomore in 2019, he wasn’t the only 10th-grader Riley turned the offense over to.
The starting quarterback that season was Skylar Locklear. Since Hampton went down, it’s been Locklear who took the keys and kept the offense rolling.
This season, Locklear has passed for 2,086 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also has rushed for 393 yards and nine more scores. Some would say it’s been a breakout year for the junior quarterback. Riley doesn’t see it that way.
“A lot of people are like, ‘Skylar is playing so much better now,’ and I’m like, ‘Is he really?’ ” Riley said. “Before he would hand the ball off and there goes Omarion for an 80-yard touchdown. Now he hands the ball off and we get 10 yards and then we throw it for 40, you know what I mean, there weren’t as many opportunities to see how good he is.”
Locklear was very good in the regional final, passing for 258 yards and three touchdowns, and rushing for 111 and another score.
Since he was in middle school, Riley noticed Locklear has always had the “it” factor.
“I don’t know how to describe it other than that,” Riley said. “When something wasn’t going right in a game he could just make the play that we needed to make.”
Part of what makes Locklear great, or have that “it” factor, Riley believes, is the fact he’s always competing. For the first two years of his high school career Locklear played football, basketball and baseball. He gave up basketball this year because it conflicted with the start of football season. But growing up, he was competing year-round and Riley knows that’s what makes his quarterback a gamer.
“He’s a winner and makes a lot of plays,” Riley said. “He’s also really athletic. Everyone knew he could throw, I don’t think people realized he’s really athletic and can run as well as he did.”
And Riley has shown the kind of depth he has in the backfield.
Senior Amir Johnson, who Riley said would start at most schools, has rushed for 455 yards and 13 scores this season. Freshman Cameron Goins started the season at wide receiver, but moved to running back and has averaged 5 yards per carry in nine games. When they both got banged up against Clayton, Riley called on sophomore Isaac Piatek. All Piatek did was finish with 114 yards and three touchdowns.
‘It’s different’
According to Riley this is the best practicing team he has ever coached.
In previous seasons, the staff could yell at them all week, but it would take a loss to get their attention. This year the players police themselves, correcting a bad segment by the time they return from a water break.
Players like linebacker Hunter Morris and defensive back Keyshawn Monk are quick to get everyone back on track. Riley said senior offensive and defensive lineman James Gartin will get after players more than coaches at times.
Monday was the best practice they’ve had all year, according to Riley, but one thing he wants is for his team to embrace the opportunity in front of them on Thursday. There is no need to preach it’s just another game when that goes out the window the minute they step onto a college field.
“There’s no hiding from it,” Riley said. “You can’t pretend it’s a normal week, then you show up at a college stadium and realize it ain’t normal. Acknowledge that it’s different. I think when you acknowledge it and you embrace it you are a little bit better to deal with it when you get there and have fun.”
CLEVELAND (10-0) vs. MT. TABOR (10-0)
WHEN: Thursday, May 6
TIME: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Kenan Stadium, UNC
