Wildcats out match Cougars
The Wildcats, who clinched the region title in Week 10 with their win over Lenoir City, routed Campbell County, 55-28, Thursday night at Blankenship Field to put the finish on a its unblemished league campaign.
Oak Ridge (8-2 overall, 4-0 in the region) and the Cougars (4-6, 1-3) will now turn their attention to the postseason and the TSSAA Class 5A playoffs.
The Wildcats will host East Hamilton, while Campbell County will travel to Walker Valley.
Oak Ridge sophomore quarterback Blaine Stansberry closed out the regular season with his best game of the 2023 campaign. He threw five touchdown passes. He was 14-for-17 for 263 yards and didn’t loft an interception.
He opened the scoring against the Cougars when he threw a 56-yard scoring strike to Will Presley midway through the first quarter.
But the Cougars would answer as Eli Owens took the ensuing kickoff and rumbled 94 yards for the game-tying TD with 5 minutes, 39 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
From there, the Wildcats would go on to dominate the first half, on Senior Night at Oak Ridge, as they would score 28 more points before the break.
During the onslaught, Stansberry threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior running back De’Jauvis Dozier, who followed that reception with a 69-yard touchdown scamper to extend the Wildcats’ advantage to 21 -7 with 8:45 to go in the second stanza.
Stansberry closed out the opening half with two more scoring strikes, including a 9-yarder to Almani Rembert and a 19-yard effort to senior tight end Vashawn Nalls just before halftime.
Kicker Eli Pearson converted all five of his extra points in the first half.
ORHS had a 35-7 lead and was well on its way to continuing its dominance over the Cougars. The Wildcats have now won 37 of 38 meetings against Campbell County.
In the third quarter, Stansberry continued his masterful performance as he had another touchdown toss to Presley, making the score 42-7.
Campbell County made things a bit interesting as it scored back-to-back touchdowns as quarterback Landen Hensley and Owens had short touchdown runs to pull the Cougars to within 42-21 before Dozier’s 49-yard scamper helped Oak Ridge reassert control.
Owens had another TD run before Oak Ridge freshman Damilyn Porter closed out the scoring with a 41-yard dash to the end zone.
A perfect league record, especially in Region 3-5A, is quite an accomplishment, but Nalls wants more, a state title.
“This was a big win, but honestly, I want the state championship,” he said. “We have to compete.
“We have to compete in practice every day. We have to win and you have to play every game like it’s your last.”
Next up: Playoff football returns to Blankenship Field Friday night as the Wildcats host East Hamilton.
The Hurricanes enter the postseason with a 6-4 record. They finished fourth in Region 4-5A.