HS Football: Oak Ridge Crushes Cleveland En Route to Team’s First Win

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Oak Ridge War Eagles (1-2) picked up their first win of the season by beating the winless Cleveland Indians (0-3) in a 51-10 district opener.

Following two lackluster defensive performances that placed the team dead-last in the district with the most yards given up, the War Eagles started their defensive stance by forcing an immediate turnover.

A drop back from Cleveland’s Dominique Gilkey aimed to pick up a lot of yards through the air, but Oak Ridge was all over it. Dylan Chatman came off his assignment to cover the lofted ball and intercepted the pass near midfield.

The great field position set up the War Eagles with a smaller field. The district-leading Oak Ridge offense made mincemeat of the Indian defense by running the option with Drayton Urbay and Justin Hayes.

Urbay paid off the drive with a rushing score from five yards out to put his team up 7-0 on the opening drive.

Oak Ridge’s defensive control of the first half would continue to hinder the Cleveland offense, with their next two first-quarter drives resulting in turnovers or punts.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online, Oak Ridge Head Coach Mark Schmid spoke on the overall improvement compared to the team’s out-of-district games.

“These last couple of weeks, we’ve had our moments, but we haven’t been able to play consistently,” said Schmid. “Tonight, we played consistently and I’m proud of that.

With the defense handling Cleveland’s offensive production, the War Eagle offense was free to take their time with unmatchable plays.

Hayes gashed the Indian defense for big gains. Bouncing off would-be tacklers, evading defenders, and finding gaps in the Cleveland defense were all skills excellently displayed by the senior running back.

The Hayes runs set the team up inside the red zone twice before the end of the first quarter, with Urbay taking in his second score, and Hayes finding the endzone for a 21-0 Oak Ridge lead at the end of one.

Cleveland’s fourth drive showed signs of progression, with the team almost reaching midfield for the first time. Penalties against the War Eagles aided the flat Indian offense on its best drive thus far, but back-to-back penalties and a fumble returned the ball to Oak Ridge inside Cleveland territory.

Oak Ridge’s advantageous field position was turned into another score following a facemask penalty against the tired Indian defense. The penalty moved the War Eagles inside the ten-yard line, and another Hayes rushing score pushed the lead to 28-0.

“As a play caller, it makes things a whole lot easier for you,” said Schmid of the team’s rushing success. “Because you can get in manageable situations from running the ball on first down for five or six yards. That makes your second and third down easier because your playbook is wide open.”

Penalties against Oak Ridge continued to aid Cleveland’s offense through the second quarter, with almost all of their positive offensive yards coming from War Eagle penalties. The combination of penalties and a sly screen to James Cook pushed the Indians into the red zone for the first time.

With their first true test of the game, the War Eagle defense forced multiple negative plays to make a shot at the endzone an impossibility. Cleveland had to deal with the hand they were dealt and settled for a field goal to get on the board.

After surrendering their first score of the game, the War Eagles returned to their scoring ways with another efficient touchdown drive.

Phoenix Aguilar was the primary target for Oak Ridge on their sixth offensive drive, with the talented receiver posing a receiving and rushing threat.

A shallow throw to Aguilar in the flats turned into a large gain down the Cleveland sideline to put the War Eagles back inside Indian territory. A jet-sweep to Aguilar would score the team’s fifth rushing touchdown of the half for a 35-3 Oak Ridge lead.

“We had a cleaner game on offense,” said Schmid. “The offense was more productive and efficient than we had been.”

The War Eagle lead grew one more time before the end of the half on another explosive play.

Oak Ridge’s special teams decided to make an impact on the game. Following another stopping of the Cleveland offense, Aguilar got situated at his ten-yard line for a punt return. A couple of bursts of speed and blocks from his teammates freed up the space needed for an 88-yard punt return score.

The special teams touchdown gave Oak Ridge a 42-3 lead heading into the halftime locker rooms, and the team’s control over the first half allowed the coaches to work out issues that plagued the team in weeks prior.

“It was encouraging to see that we were developing some consistency offensively,” said Schmid. “We just have to clean up the turnovers, but we were better tonight than we were the last two weeks.”

With no running clock going into the second half, Oak Ridge kept their starting unit on the field, and they took less than two minutes to score another touchdown. A wide-open James Scott sauntered into the endzone for the first passing touchdown of the game to put the War Eagles up 49-3.

Cleveland’s responding drive took more time than usual, with the offense picking up yards through the air. A miraculous job of staying alive in the backfield from Gilkey eventually led to a long completion, but it failed to prevent the turnover on downs that gave possession back to Oak Ridge.

The backups came in for the War Eagles to start their second drive, but their dominance in the trenches carried over to the second-unit players.

Read-option rushes from Travis Coleman and Kaden Reyna gashed the Indian defense for more War Eagle yards. Unfortunately for Oak Ridge, a holding penalty moved the team behind the sticks, and the team was forced to punt.

Both teams traded possessions back and forth for the remainder of the game, with Oak Ridge’s backups getting valuable reps.

“We got almost everybody in the game and they all played well,” said Schmid. “I think we continued on the lessons we’ve learned over the past two weeks.”

Cleveland’s offense got equally valuable reps for their players, with the offense continuing the fight against the scoreboard. Their fight resulted in a late rushing touchdown from Gilkey, but the overwhelming War Eagle lead gave Oak Ridge a 51-10 win.

Oak Ridge’s forceful win starts the team at 1-0 in district play and gets the team their first win of the season.

“When you’re 0-2, it doesn’t really matter how good you are,” explained Schmid. “There’s a lot that goes on with the psyche of the kids. And everybody is happier after a win. They feel like the work they put in is being rewarded.”

Oak Ridge’s next district opponent will be the College Park Cavaliers next Friday, while Cleveland gets ready to host the Grand Oaks Grizzlies.

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