Featured Photo by Ephraim Rodenbach
Story by Ephraim Rodenbach
Oakland High School (13-1) took down the Maryville Rebels (12-2) by a score of 21-13 to punch its ticket to the state championship for the fifth consecutive year.
The matchup between the Rebels and the Patriots isn’t anything new for the 6A TSSAA playoffs. Oakland head coach Kevin Creasy has taken home four victories in the past five years against the historically robust Maryville football program.
“You’re playing an opponent like Maryville, who’s won all these state championships,” Kevin Creasy said. “[They] outplayed us early. Our guys could have lied down and checked out, but they fought back like they have all year.”
As the cheerleaders and banners left the field. Maryville set the tone early as Rebels quarterback Will Jones completed a deep pass over the middle to Nolan White, which set up the Rebels with prime field position within the red zone.
After a false start penalty backed up the Rebels, Jones took a direct snap from under center and barreled into the endzone over multiple Oakland defenders. Maryville took a 7-0 lead with a successful extra point.
On the ensuing Patriots drive, a Maryville defender slammed Oakland quarterback Kyler Creasy to the ground, drawing a personal foul. After a few short run plays, 6A Mr. Football candidate Craig Tutt broke loose on the sideline and tight-roped the boundary on his way to paydirt. With two minutes to go in the first quarter, both teams were knotted at 7-7.
Following the Patriots touchdown, the Rebels once again drove down the turf with the help of two pass interference calls to put them in field goal range. With the drive stalling thanks to the Oakland pass defense, the Rebels took the lead thanks to Hudson Jammerson’s 37-yard field goal.
Oakland’s next drive started fast with a 56-yard dump pass to Tutt, who was shoved out of bounds at the Maryville 25. Following the explosive play, the Rebels defense bowed its back, forcing a turnover on downs after a Kyler Creasy pass fell short of chains on fourth and long.
Both teams traded punts within their territory until Jones hit Colton Foust down the sideline to pick up thirty yards for the Rebels. The big gain led to another Jammerson field goal to give Maryville a 13-7 lead over the Patriots just before halftime.
Oakland received the second half kickoff and moved down the field quickly, thanks to a 44-yard rush from University of Tennessee commit Duane Morris. However, due to a facemask call and a stop on fourth down, Maryville got the ball back with all of the momentum in its favor.
After Oakland’s defense forced another punt, Tutt made another huge play for the Patriots, breaking multiple tackles en route to a 70-yard rush to the opposing 15 before being shoved out of bounds. Soon after, Morris scored his first touchdown of the game, punching in a one-yard rush under center to put the Patriots on top for the first time, leading 14-13 with one minute remaining in the third quarter.
Oakland’s defensive line came up huge in the next series, forcing another fourth down punt and leading Oakland to score again. Thanks to the hard running of Morris from seven yards out, Oakland grabbed a 21-13 and ran out the clock to guarantee another BlueCross Bowl State Championship berth for the Patriots.
Once again, four-star Tennessee commit Morris put the team on his back to bring the Patriots back to Chattanooga with two rushing touchdowns on the night.
“To play on this field one good time as a senior, I mean, it’s win or go home,” Morris said. “I get the opportunity to go play back from where I’m originally from, so it’s something I really hold.”
Oakland will travel to Chattanooga to take on Houston High School (12-2) in the 6A state championship in Finley Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. ET. The Patriots look to make up for a 24-9 loss to the Mustangs in last year’s championship game.
Ephraim Rodenbach is a sports reporter for MTSU Sidelines
To contact the Sports and Assistant Sports Editor, email [email protected]
For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, and follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on X and Instagram @mtsusidelines. Also, sign up for our weekly newsletter here.
