OAKMAN – With a 39-8 win over Tarrant, Oakman moves to 2-0 in region play. Coach Ryan Hall said he is “ecstatic” to start 2-0 in the region for the first time in his 3-year tenure at the school.
For the second week in a row, Oakman came out of the box swinging, On the third play from scrimmage, Kaysen Dickerson recovered a fumble in Tarrant territory at the 42 yard line. Just nine plays later, sophomore quarterback Trace Cagle called his own number from four yards out, putting his team up 6-0 with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter.
The Wildcat defense was relentless, holding the Tarrant to negative 6 yards in the first half and only 55 yards of total offense. The Oakman offense took advantage of the defensive effort, scoring on the opening four drives (Soph. Bridger Upton – 59 yard rush, Jr. Kaysen Dickerson – 1 yard rush, Soph. Logan Tarvin – 51 yard pass recepttion) However, Tarrant continued to fight and was able to stall the Wildcat offensive surge on the final two drives of the half. Tarrant finally got on the board with 2:37 left in the first half when Junior wide receiver, Micah Lawrence, took Cagle’s punt 70 yards to pay dirt. Oakman led 26-8 at the midway point.
Starting the second half, Tarrant looked to be on the verge of a comeback after forcing a fumble on the opening drive. Tarrant took over at the 50 yard line with a chance to make a dent in the Oakman lead. However, the Oakman defense bent but didn’t break when they forced a turnover on downs at their own 19 yard line. The defense was led by a stellar effort from junior defensive ends, Luke Martin and Peyton Mclemore, who combined for 3 tackles for loss, multiple tackles, and quarterback pressures. The Cats would not look back as they scored on the next two possessions with rushes of 41 yards (Tyler Thomas) and 1 yard (Rick Johnson) as the defensive continued to shut down the Tarrant offense. Cagle finished the night with 108 yards in the air and 39 yards on the ground with two total touchdowns. Thomas led all rushers with 80 yards on just 8 carries while Upton finished with 79 yards of total offense.
Hall said “I am pleased with this young team’s progression as they get a little bit older each week. They showed great resilience adjusting to the unusual schedule (the holiday and the game moving to Thursday) this week.”
The Wildcats are now 2-2 on the season as they welcome county rival and region foe, the Carbon Hill Bulldogs, next Friday Night at H.D. Collins Stadium.
