Oakland High School (5-0) barreled through Siegel High School (3-2) in electric fashion with a 38-0 victory on the road to remain unbeaten through the 2025 season.
The night was full of energy from the very start, with onside kicks, rolling blackouts and a 70-yard touchdown all in just the first quarter.
The excitement started on the very first play of the night with Siegel recovering an onside kick on the very first play of the game.
Despite the promising field position, Oakland’s defense stood strong and quickly gave the ball back into the hands of the Patriots’ offense.
Oakland wasted no time sending a message as Kam Morton found University of Tennessee-commit Joel Wyatt on a screen pass for a 69-yard touchdown.
Wyatt shone on both sides of the ball throughout the first quarter, as the senior athlete made a huge 3rd down tackle to force a 4th down and a big deflection to pair with the game’s first score.
“I mean, my coach has got high standards for me, so I’m trying to do what they need me to do,” Wyatt said.
Oakland continued to crank up the pressure in the first quarter with another touchdown coming from University of Mississippi-commit Craig Tutt, punching it in the endzone.
Along with the early excitement on the field, there was plenty of off-the-field drama. Rolling blackouts plagued the entire first quarter of the game, causing multiple delays throughout the night.
“The best thing I can say about the blackouts that were rolling throughout the first half were the referees,” Oakland head coach Kevin Creasy said. “I thought the referees did a great job of pausing the action and making sure that all our guys were safe on both sides.”
After multiple stoppages of play in the first quarter, a temporary postponement of the game was called around 7:30 p.m. in order to attempt to fix the power issues. Despite the lack of power, the crowd was full of electricity with flashlights out and the sounds of marching bands echoing through the darkness.
Amidst the chaos and tension of a rivalry football game, there wasn’t much on-field drama between the two teams throughout the blackout, with officials explaining the circumstances and next steps to the two teams.
“The lead official said that both teams were very respectful, and there was no chattering,” Creasy said. “There was no cheap shots. There’s a lot of respect between both teams, and there was nothing dirty, and I thought that was the best compliment that you can get from a referee.”
Play resumed at 7:50 p.m., and with the rolling blackouts a thing of the past, Oakland’s offense continued to pour on the pressure.
The Patriots put points on the board before the end of the half as Jose Hernandez nailed a 34-yard field goal to give Oakland a 17-0 lead.
Oakland continued to pour it on out of the break over Siegel, with Donte Cameron finding paydirt on the first drive of the half with an 18-yard run to the endzone.
All throughout the night, Cameron and Morton would swap off at the quarterback position, with the Stars’ defense unable to find an answer for either.
“The best thing about them is them celebrating each other’s victories. They’re not ashamed to come over and celebrate when somebody makes a big play or a touchdown,” Creasy said. “And ultimately, if they’re made out of the right stuff and the competitors that I think they are, then they want to win the job. They want to be the only one at quarterback.”
The Patriots’ special teams unit showed up big in the third quarter, getting revenge from the first play of the game by securing their own onside kick recovery. The favorable field position allowed Oakland to punch it in for a quick score with running back Deontae Short.
“It’s one of those deals where you get punched and you’ve got to have a counter punch,” Creasy said. “I give Marcus Price and our special teams coordinator a lot of credit. He set up a good onside kick for us. And then at the same time, we were able to make some plays in the special teams. Had a big field goal right before half. Jose Hernandez, one of the better kickers in our region, and he had a big night for us.”
The Patriots put the final nail in the Stars’ coffin in the fourth quarter as Justis Haggard ran it in for an 11-yard touchdown to make it 38-0.
This shutout marks another huge performance for the Oakland defense, which has been a force to be reckoned with all throughout the season.
“Our defensive coordinator and just really our whole defensive staff, they push us every day, and what we do in practice is what we come do out in the game,” Wyatt said.
This victory marks the fifth in a row for Oakland to start the season as they look to defend their 2024 state championship and claim their ninth state title.
“There’s always stuff to work on. I thought our guys played hard, but we made too many mistakes,” Creasy said. “And if you do that next week, it’s going to cost us. So we’ve only got a few days to get better, and so we’re going right back to work Monday and hopefully correct those mistakes.”
Both teams will be back in action on the road next Friday, with Oakland traveling to Blackman High School and Siegel facing off against Rockvale High School.
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