By SCOTT TYLER

Sports Editor

BETHEL — After having the passing game carry Cayuga the last two wins, the Wildcats got back to what took them to the state title game a year ago — running the football.

Cayuga ran over, past and around Overton Friday night for a 61-31 win at Scarborough Stadium.

“We have struggled the last couple of games running the ball up the middle,” Cayuga head coach Tommy Allison said. “But tonight, I was real proud of our guys for the way they were able to run the ball.”

Cayuga rushed for 486 yards, averaging over 13 yards a carry.

“We had good blocking up front and good intensity,” senior wide receiver Caleb Summerville said.

Quarterback Malcome Kennedy continued his excellent play rushing for 275 yards on 11 carries and scored three touchdowns on runs of 22, 57 and 62 yards.

“We had two or three games were we did not run the ball well,” Kennedy said. “But tonight, our offensive line was so much better and we were able to go right at them.”

Running back Traylon Shead, who has been banged up the last two games, rushed for 194 yards on 21 carries and scored four touchdowns.

“It is great to have or leader back,” Summerville said of Shead.

Shead came into Friday night not having a rushing touchdown since the second week of the season and only five on the year. He had scores of 19, 3, 1 and 34 yards.

“Traylon is still not 100 percent but he looked much better tonight,” Allison said. “He is really getting close to be back all the way.”

Shead had two touchdowns called back because of penalties on the Wildcats’ first drive. But the Wildcats would not be denied getting into the end zone. Kennedy converted a fourth and 7 with an 18-yard run and then two plays later scored on a 22-yard keeper when he faked the handoff and went untouched up the middle of the field, giving Cayuga a 7-0 lead.

Kennedy’s score started a back-and-forth as the two teams traded touchdowns for the next two possessions.

Overton converted a fourth and 12 with a screen pass across the other side of the field to Telvin Darden. Darden would later score on an 11-yard run but the extra point missed and Cayuga led 7-6.

Kennedy responded on the first play from scrimmage when he scored on a 53-yard quarterback draw and the Wildcats led 13-6.

But back came the Mustangs as Overton scored on an unusual play when in a pile of players, the ball was fumbled and landed in the hands of John Michael Florey, who outran the Cayuga defense for a 56-yard score and the game was tied 13-all.

That is when Cayuga took over for the rest of the second quarter and the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Shak Jenkins took the on side kick and returned it to the Overton 19-yard line. For the second straight possession, the Wildcats found the end zone on the first play from scrimmage when Shead went up the middle for a 19-yard score and the Wildcats led 19-13.

Another penalty brought back a Kennedy touchdown on the next Cayuga possession. But again, the Wildcats would not be denied on third and 13 when Kennedy found Summerville who tightrope the back of the end zone to stay in bounds for a 25-yard score. Kennedy added the two-point run and the Wildcats led 27-13.

Cayuga got the ball right back when Jamal Gibson stripped and took the ball from the Overton return man on the kickoff for the forced fumble and fumble recovery.

The Wildcats then went to their bag of tricks when wide receiver Billy Duncan took an end around and stopped to throw the long strike to a wide open Summerville for a 33-yard touchdown. On the extra-point attempt, on another trick play, kicker Melvin Shead took a flip from the holder, Duncan, and ran it in for the two-point conversion and the Wildcats led 35-13 at halftime.

Cayuga put the game away in the second half, scoring on four straight possessions.

Kennedy started the second half scoring when he ran another quarterback draw, got a big block from Jenkins to get to the sideline and out race the Overton defense for a 62-yard score.

The next three possessions would be about Traylon Shead, who scored three straight touchdowns.

Overton (1-1, 2-4) 0 13 8 0 21

Cayuga (2-0, 4-1) 7 18 20 6 61

CAYUGA — Malcome Kennedy 22 run (Melvin Shead kick)

OVERTON — Telvin Darden 11 run (kick fail)

CAYUGA — Kennedy 57 run (kick fail)

OVERTON — John Michael Flory 56 run (Darden kick)

CAYUGA — Traylon Shead 19 run (kick fail)

CAYUGA — Caleb Summerville 25 pass from Kennedy (Kennedy run)

CAYUGA — Summerville 33 pass from Billy Duncan (Melvin Shead run)

CAYUGA — Kennedy 62 run (Melvin Shead kick)

OVERTON — Darden 60 run (Darden kick)

CAYUGA — Traylon Shead 3 run (Melvin Shead kick)

CAYUGA — Traylon Shead 1 run (kick fail)

CAYUGA — Traylon Shead 34 run (kick fail)

Overton Cayuga

First Downs 8 19

Rushes-Yards 39-172 37-486

Passing Yards 25 73

Total Yards 197 559

Comp-Att-Int 1-2-1 4-16-0

Punts-Avg 5-36 1-12

Fumbles-Lost 5-3 1-1

Penalties-Yards 3-25 9-60

Rushing — Overton: Darden, 12-95; Flory, 14-88. Cayuga: Kennedy, 11-275; Traylon Shead, 21-194

Passing — Overton: Peyton Crawford, 1-2-1-25. Cayuga: Kennedy, 3-15-0-40; Duncan, 1-1-0-33

Receiving — Overton: Darden, 1-25. Cayuga: Summerville, 4-73