Wildcats ready for prime-time opener
Oak Ridge High School wrapped up its preseason football slate last week, and Head Coach Derek Rang liked most of what he saw.
Oak Ridge will host Knoxville Halls on Thursday, Aug. 21, in a regionally televised game at Blankenship Field.
“Offensively, we did some good things,” said Rang, who enters his third season.
“Malik Howard made some plays,” he said. “He caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Blaine Stansberry. But we have some things to clean up. We had a touchdown called back on a penalty, and a couple of turnovers. We just need to play a little cleaner, but it’s still early.”
The Wildcats, who finished 9-5 last year and advanced to the Class 5A state semifinals before falling to eventual champion Sevier County, will make the jump to Class 6A this season. Rang knows that mistakes can be costly at the next level.
“We had the turnovers and the penalty that took points off the board, and you can’t have that,” Rang said.
Defensively, Oak Ridge impressed its head coach.
“Cookeville didn’t score an offensive point,” Rang said. “We played well defensively and we played really well overall. I was impressed with Cookeville. They’re a good team, and that was a good battle for us. They have a Cincinnati commitment at offensive tackle, and they’re big up front on both lines.”
With no more scrimmages or jamborees on the schedule, the Wildcats will use the remaining days before opening night to fine-tune on the practice field.
“We’re just going to practice,” Rang said. “We play Halls on Thursday, and we’ll be the first team to get started.”
Rang also noted kicker Eli Pearson converted a long field goal in the scrimmage against the Cavaliers.
