CONROE — The undefeated Oak Ridge War Eagles shut out the College Park Cavaliers 35-7 at Woodforest Bank Stadium and moved toward the top of the district standings.
It was a dominating win for the War Eagles and they now sit alone atop the division after West Brook’s loss on Thursday night. College Park falls to 1-5 on the year and last in the district.
Oak Ridge started the game out fast with a 76-yard touchdown by Tanner Lacy, who finished with four receptions for 162 yards. The War Eagles went with Bishop Durst over Reinard Britz, though both had gotten starts this year and will continue to play out of a two-quarterback system.
At running back, senior Nick Mccants and Kamari Williams took the majority of the first half carries. The War Eagles got two rushing touchdowns in the first half and shut out the Cavaliers early.
College Park featured quarterback Jake Hunnicutt, who was shut down by the War Eagle defense. They played out of a two-back system with Daniel Vann lining up in the backfield and Travis Washburn primarily out of the slot. Vann took the majority of the first half carries, while Washburn caught eight passes, mainly screens, out of the slot. They took multiple drives into War Eagle territory early but were shut out in the first half. The majority of their first-half yards came on a screen pass to Vann that went 70 yards.
With College Park unable to score, Oak Ridge went into the half with a commanding 21-0 lead.
College Park came out of the half with a surprise onside kick and recovered it in an attempt to get back into the game. Neither team got very much going in the third quarter exchanging punt after punt. Oak Ridge’s offense took their foot off the gas, putting backups in with 2:38 in the third quarter. They got their first points of the half two minutes into the fourth quarter, off of a Trevarious Grimes rush.
With seven minutes remaining in the game, the Cavaliers finally got a score and attempted another onside kick, this one bouncing out of bounds. On the ensuing drive, Oak Ridge padded their lead with another touchdown, this one a handoff to linebacker Brennan Young.
Vance Valentine/Texas HS Football
The 35-7 score was as explainable as it could be, Oak Ridge’s defense flexed their muscles, College Park got the majority of their first-half yards on one play, and the majority of their second-half yards in garbage time. On the night, the War Eagles had five touchdowns: one receiving, four rushing, with two of the rushing touchdowns coming from linebackers Young and Camden Barajas. The War Eagles had seven players rush the ball, and while co-starter Reinard Britz didn’t get any snaps, backup Blane Romero got some good snaps, leading two scoring drives.
When asked about the game, College Park head coach Lonnie Madison took the optimistic approach.
“There were a lot of positives, the offense moved the ball, we just didn’t capitalize and score touchdowns to finish off the drives,” he said. “We moved the ball a lot better than we have in past weeks.”
Vann’s running between the tackles opened up Washburn in the slot, getting him out in open space where he churned out yards on screens and sweeps. Washburn racked up 96 yards on the night and Vann was the workhorse back, tallying 102 total yards.
The defense forced two turnovers. Defensively, Joseph Ossai finished with four tackles and three tackles for a loss, the defense had a solid game, but let up more yards than they have in past weeks.
Oak Ridge is are now 6-0 in 2017 with a pivotal matchup with The Woodlands looming in the distance. Tonight’s win may have shown the War Eagles have two quarterbacks well suited for the job, with both proving themselves in their respective starts, and a running back in Lacy that has the shiftiness and acceleration needed to test defensive edges.
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