Oscar Smith easily wins another region title, but has a bigger goal in sight
Oscar Smith running back Kevon King had no doubt the Tigers would beat Western Branch in the Class 6 Region A title game Friday.
He wasn’t being cocky, but he knew the Tigers have a bigger goal than just winning a region title.
He knows the Tigers are trying to win back-to-back state titles.
“We already knew we could beat them,” he said. “We just stayed locked in and didn’t feed into the crowd or anything like that, and just played our game. If we play our game, you can’t beat us.
King accounted for three touchdowns — two on runs and another on a pass — as he helped lead the Tigers to a 58-6 win over the Bruins.
The Tigers will play a semifinal against the winner of Saturday’s Battlefield-Freedom game.
In the Tigers’ eyes, they don’t care who they play, because when they come out focused, they are tough to beat.
Oscar Smith (11-1) didn’t waste any time on its first possession as the Tigers marched 62 yards in eight plays to get into the end zone. Jason Woodard capped the drive with a 24-yard touchdown run to help give the Tigers an early 7-0 lead.
The Tigers added to their lead three minutes later when Amonte Jones returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown to put Oscar Smith up 14-0.
About two minutes later, the Tigers swarmed the Western Branch punter and got the ball on the Bruins’ 8.
King scored on the next play, an 8-yard touchdown run.
The defense added a safety. King scored on a 41-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ethan Vasko and later scored on a 54-yard touchdown run to put Oscar Smith up 37-0.
Sherron Covil added the dagger on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Vasko, and the Tigers led 44-0 at the half.
“Our guys came out ready to go,” said Oscar Smith coach Chris Scott. “The seniors have been here before. We got to keep elevating the program, and these guys took to that all week in practice. All the things that champions go to do, they bought into it, and I think that’s why they came out here ready to go. They made a statement from the get-go.”
The only thing that went against the Tigers was they didn’t record a shutout.
Western Branch’s Paul Billups Jr. returned the opening kickoff of the second half 77 yards into the end zone.
The touchdown marked the first time the Bruins scored against Oscar Smith since 2019, as the Tigers had gone three consecutive games without allowing Western Branch to score. And in the last six meetings, the Tigers outscored Western Branch 299-14 with five shutouts.
Western Branch, which hasn’t beaten Oscar Smith since 2003, finished the season 10-3 in what has been a remarkable turnaround by Bruins second-year coach Rashad Cook. Prior to this season, the Bruins hadn’t had a winning season since 2016 and hadn’t won a playoff game since 2013. They won two playoff games to reach the region final.
King finished with 92 rushing yards, while Vasko threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns. The Old Dominion commit has accounted for 15 touchdowns in the postseason.
Larry Rubama, 757-446-2273, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com | Follow @LHRubama on Twitter.
