Oak Mountain Soars Over Tuscaloosa County 48-21
It was an electric night in Tuscaloosa, as the 2-4 Tuscaloosa County Wildcats welcomed the 5-1 Oak Mountain Eagles in a regional showdown.
Oak Mountain won the toss and elected to defer, giving Tuscaloosa County the ball first. Both teams struggled to gain the upper hand in the first quarter, but nearing the end of one, Oak Mountain began to find their footing. The Eagles struck first, with junior QB Evan Smith carrying the ball into the endzone.
Tuscaloosa County's sophomore QB, Brax Garrison struggled to place the ball where he wanted to, going 5 for 15 in completions, and only amassing 20 passing yards in his three quarters of play.
With the Wildcats failing to get anything going on offense, it was up the defense to hold Oak Mountain's rushing attack. Before half, the Eagles broke through through again with this rush, this time, Mark Johnson grabbing crucial points going into halftime.
Coming out of half, The Eagles received the ball looking to set the tone in the second half. And set the tone they did, as junior QB Evan Smith ran in another score to make 21-0.
The 4th quarter became the true star of the evening, as the Wildcats came out roaring. A switch at QB brought in senior Connor White, and he made his presence known by throwing to junior wide receiver Christian Davis for the score, making it 21-7 Eagles.
On the next possession, a crucial misstep by Oak Mountain, a fumble in their own territory, gave the Wildcats another chance to score, and they took full advantage, as senior QB Connor White lofted a ball to senior WR Cedric Williams for another score, giving the Wildcats new life a score of 21-14.
Immediately, the junior QB Evan Smith, on one play from scrimmage, took the winds of the Wildcats sails by scoring a rushing touchdown and putting the score out of reach for the Wildcats 28-14.
Or so the Eagles thought.
Senior QB Connor White lofted a deep ball that found the hands of senior WR Cedric Williams, and the Wildcats were back in business 28-21.
But Eagles junior QB Evan Smith continued his stellar night, sneaking in another touchdown making the score 35-21. With another stalled drive by the Wildcats, the Eagles finally placed the punctuation mark on the game, handed the ball to senior RB Judah Tait for the game sealing touchdown, and giving the victory to Oak Mountain.
For Oak Mountain, their running was the highlight of the night. Junior QB Evan Smith ran for 4 Touchdowns and amassed 233 yards, while Senior Judah Tait rushed 21 times for 118 yards.
Tuscaloosa County Senior QB Connor, in relief for Sophomore Brax Garrison, was a bright spot for Tuscaloosa County, completing 10 of his 20 passing attempts for 169 yards and 3 Touchdowns.
Tuscaloosa County falls to 2-5 on the year, while Oak Mountain improves to 6-1.
Tuscaloosa County takes on a perfect 8-0 Hoover team next week, while Oak Mountain gets set for a highly anticipated matchup with an undefeated Thompson squad.
The Hater