CITY SECTION FOOTBALL : Cleveland’s Game Plan Goes Awry in 21-7 Loss

Cleveland High football Coach Steve Landress scripted Cleveland’s first few series of plays Friday night when his club played host to Fairfax in a nonleague opener.

But his players suffered from opening-night jitters and fell, 21-7, as Fairfax scored three fourth-period touchdowns.

“The script worked for the first series and then it broke down,” Landress said. “Back to the drawing board.”

Cleveland appeared to be in command after two periods, leading, 7-0, while holding Fairfax to 43 yards and two first downs. But the Lions roared in the fourth quarter.

After forcing David Erhardt to punt from his own seven, Fairfax took over at the Cavalier 41, and four plays later, quarterback Rahim Muhammad tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Eduardo Payan. Milo Bynum’s kick tied the game at seven with 10:43 to play.

Erhardt, who doubles as the Cavalier quarterback, fumbled a fake pitch on Cleveland’s next series.

The Lions took the lead by using the hook-and-ladder play, as Muhammad threw a three-yard pass to Bynum, who turned and pitched to Tharen Todd, who went 34 yards for a touchdown.

Fairfax scored again with 1 minute 44 seconds left when Muhammad went 56 yards on a quarterback sneak.

Cleveland stayed primarily on the ground in the first half, moving the ball effectively but scoring only once.

The Cavaliers took over at their 38-yard line after a Mario Mattison fumble and Erhardt threw 12 yards to Manny Valencia to put the ball at midfield.

A two-yard gain by Ibn Bilal and two Erhardt completions moved the ball to the 21, and Delvon McDaniel took over from there, carrying the final four plays of the drive and scoring on a five-yard run. Brent Sapiro added the kick.

McDaniel led all rushers at halftime with 56 yards in 11 carries and finished with a team-high 60 yards.

Erhardt, forced to improvise all night under a hard rush, was nine of 15 for 56 yards.