Oakland High School (13-0) defeated Green Hill High School (10-3) 21-17 to move on to the TSSAA 6A semifinals.
The Patriots trailed 17-7 in the fourth quarter before a dramatic comeback powered by efficient offense and forced turnovers to secure the win.
“You know you want to enjoy it for just a little bit then work on round four,” Oakland head coach Kevin Creasy said. “Green Hill Brought a really good team and played their tails off, they have nothing to hang their heads about that game could have gone either way.”
Green Hill came out to an early start scoring off a rushing touchdown from running back Zachery Cartwright to take a 7-0 lead.
Oakland found their place on the scoreboard a few minutes later with a touchdown of their own. Oakland quarterback Donte Cameron scrambled on third and 16, and ended up taking it to the house in a big moment to tie things up 7-7.
“I keep my head up high and thank God for everything. And it’s a lot of my linemen to make the holes and I hit,” Cameron said.
The Hawks found themselves on the verge of their second score of the night as the second quarter got underway. Green Hill sat on the four-yard line and attempted to punch it in on the ground, until the Oakland defense forced a fumble, providing a huge stop early in the game.
Both teams remained tied throughout the second quarter, taking it to half at 7-7.
Penalties and unforced errors limited many of the Patriots’ offensive attempts as it seemed Oakland’s was its own worst enemy at times.
“We just kept getting in our way, a lot of it was unforced errors,” Creasy said. “And I think we need to do a better job of starting fast and not letting a mistake blow up into another mistake. [We] just got rolling in the wrong direction.”
Green Hill’s Dylan Hawks caught a pass down the middle before fumbling on the one-yard line, while the ball bounced around to the back of the end zone where the Hawks dove and fell on the fumble to secure a touchdown. This gave Green Hill a 14-7 advantage over Oakland.
This lead was extended early in the fourth quarter, as the Hawks drove down and kicked a field goal. This score led to a 17-7 Hawks lead with just nine minutes of play left on the clock.
A rushed, three-minute Oakland drive ended with running back and Ole Miss commitment Craig Tutt punching it to the endzone to shorten the lead. With six minutes to play, Oakland still trailed by three points as they looked to find a stop.
The Patriots’ defense stepped up and gave the offense the ball back with just five minutes left in regulation. Just one minute later, Cameron struck again, breaking loose for a 78-yard touchdown run to give Oakland their first lead of the night 21-17.
“I’m feeling amazing, our team came out, we came and played in fourth quarter,” Cameron said. “I know it was just a bad first half, but we came out in fourth quarter and scored.”
Oakland came up big on the defensive end as Kyrie Gainor stuck the nail in the coffin with an interception to secure an Oakland win.
“Somebody had to make a play on defense, and I knew it was one of the seniors, and it had to be me,”Gainor said.
The win for Oakland means they will be facing a familiar face in region foe Blackman High School (12-1) with a state title birth on the line. The two teams last met on Sept. 26, where Oakland gave Blackmon its lone loss of the season in a 32-0 victory for the Patriots.
“It’s always tough to play someone a second time, and I think it’ll be typical Murfreesboro battle between two rival schools,” Creasy said. “I think it’ll be a great environment for football. This place will be rocking and should be a really good matchup with everybody home from Thanksgiving and should be one of those games where you know what’s on the line. You win, next thing you know your playing in the state championship.”
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