Oak Ridge flips big-play script on Bears
One week after big plays doomed Oak Ridge, the Wildcats flipped the script on homecoming night at Blankenship Field.
Oak Ridge made the explosive plays this time, building a commanding first-half lead before pulling away for a 47-27 Region 2-6A victory over Bradley Central on Friday, Sept. 25.
“I thought we played a really good first half, up 27-7 at halftime,” Oak Ridge Coach Derek Rang said. “In the second half, it kind of got a little interesting there. They scored, recovered an onside kick on us, but our defense kind of bowed up, and we were able to put them away.
“It was Homecoming at Oak Ridge,” he added. “We appreciate the big crowd, doing the Hall of Fame and all the homecoming festivities. It was kind of good for us to bounce back and get a win.”
The Wildcats did much of their damage with big plays on both sides of the ball.
Zayden Williams made perhaps the biggest, intercepting a pass and returning it 95 yards for a touchdown.
“I think the key was, No. 1, defensively, we minimized big plays,” Rang said. “We didn’t give up any big plays, and then we created some turnovers.”
Defensive backs Dylan Woody and Amari Bishop also had interceptions, giving Oak Ridge three takeaways.
Offensively, the Wildcats found success through the air and on the ground, particularly with quarterbacks Brody Sparks and Kipton Feagan.
“One thing I think was impressive was we were able to get the quarterback run game going with Brody Sparks and Kipton Feagan,” Rang said. “Our quarterbacks combined for about 130 yards rushing with a couple touchdowns.
“When we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, we’re pretty hard to stop. We were able to put 47 up this week, and you feel good about what we’re doing on the offensive side of the ball.”
Sparks, the senior starter, threw two touchdown passes, while Feagan came off the bench and added another scoring pass.
“Brody had to come out of the game,” Rang said. “He got hit, and we kind of pulled him out for precautionary reasons later in the game.”
Nehemiah Adams, Williams and Lemiere Porter each caught touchdown passes for the Wildcats.
Oak Ridge improved to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in Region 2-6A play. Bradley Central fell to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the region.
Oak Ridge’s defense also thwarted a fake punt and kept Bradley Central from producing the explosive plays that had hurt the Wildcats in their loss to Cleveland a week earlier.
“We also stopped a fake punt, which was big,” Rang said. “We had an interception there in the end zone. We didn’t blow any coverages. We kind of made Bradley Central have to work on offense.
“I felt like defensively, all 11 guys were rallying to the ball well, and that’s kind of how we want to play,” he added. “We want to play with great effort and enthusiasm.”
