Football notes: Oscar Smith climbing in national rankings

Oscar Smith, the top-ranked team in South Hampton Roads and in the state of Virginia, is getting some attention in several national rankings.

The Tigers (3-0) are No. 9 in the ESPN Rise Fab 50, up from No. 14 last week. They also are ranked No. 11 by both Rivals.com and PrepNation.com.

Another ranking — MaxPrep — had the Tigers at No. 36 last week. According to MaxPrep, other Virginia schools ahead of Oscar Smith include No. 7 Stone Bridge, No. 9 Phoebus and No. 31 West Springfield.

Go figure.

Even so, Oscar Smith coach Rich Morgan welcomes the attention but jokingly said he wished it could help cut down his work in another area.

“I betcha we’re the only school who is nationally ranked whose coaches cut their own grass and line their field,” Morgan said, chuckling. “Maybe if we win a state title we won’t have to do it.”

Get a penalty at Green Run, get a 100-yard sprint

Green Run coach Shawn Wilson hopes he has found a way to cut down on penalties this season.

“Every penalty, they get 100-yard sprints,” Wilson said.

Last season, Green Run’s players who were whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct were immediately ordered to do pushups. That policy remains, and this year Wilson added sprints in practice. A 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct call gets 15 100-yard sprints the following Monday.

“We can’t have these little mistakes that cost us in the game,” Wilson said.

There is considerably less running this week at Green Run’s practices.

A week after committing 12 penalties in a one-point victory over First Colonial, the Stallions (3-0) were whistled for just three against Landstown. So what happens when Wilson disagrees with a call?

“They’re still going to have to run,” he said. “That’s just the law.

“It’s just like getting a speeding ticket. You don’t think you were speeding or maybe your speedometer is off. But if the judge says you’re guilty, you’re guilty, and you have to pay.”

Great Bridge could turn to Bray at QB again Friday

Great Bridge quarterback Brad Hudson practiced Monday, but his status for Friday’s game against top-ranked Oscar Smith is uncertain. Hudson, nursing a knee injury, sat out last week’s game against Granby.

“We’re not going to really know anything for sure until Friday,” coach Pete Gale said. “It does not look real good.”

If Hudson can’t go, Trey Bray gets his second consecutive start at quarterback. Bray threw for 244 yards in a 28-10 victory over Granby.

Bray usually plays fullback, but he played quarterback and wide receiver on the Wildcats’ junior varsity when he was younger.

Bray “knows the position,” Gale said. “It was just a matter of rubbing the rust off and letting him see the field.”

Indian River figures the tough part is over now

To say Indian River has played a tough early schedule is an understatement and a half.

The Braves (1-2) have played three ranked teams in their first three games. They lost to top-ranked Oscar Smith and No. 2 Lake Taylor but defeated King’s Fork, which was ranked No. 9 in South Hampton Roads at the time.

Now the Braves feel they have a chance to run the table and get in the playoff hunt.

“This is our time to do it,” Braves quarterback Frankie Hamrock said. “If we’re going to make some noise, then this is the time to do it.”

Hamrock, who never played high school football until this season, said he’s getting a better grasp of the offense.

“I’ve got a few starts under my belt now, so I know what to expect when I go out there now,” says Hamrock, who has completed 32 of 64 passes for 416 yards and five touchdowns. “So I’m kind of glad that we faced those tough defenses early. I know I didn’t play too good in that first game against Lake Taylor, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of this.”

Norcom striving for its first 4-0 start since 1994

Norcom coach Larry Archie knew it was just a matter of time before things started to click for his Greyhounds.

Archie, now in his third season at Norcom, said all the program needed was an attitude adjustment.

In Archie’s first two seasons, Norcom was 7-13, but seven of those losses were by seven points or less. The Greyhounds are now 3-0 for the first time since 1994, when they began the season 4-0.

“We weren’t ready to win those games,” he said. “The important thing now is that these kids expect to win. But it’s been a process.”

The Greyhounds will try to keep it going Friday when they play at Norview.

Oscar Smith’s Jones shows he can do it all

Oscar Smith senior Perry Jones already had established himself as a gifted tackler and runner.

On Friday, he added passing to his resume.

Jones took a handoff from quarterback Phillip Sims and lofted a perfect pass to Matias Parker for a fourth-quarter touchdown in the Tigers’ 46-14 victory over Indian River.

Jones’ pass was part of an eye-popping night. He also rushed for 228 yards and two TDs on 27 carries, and caught two passes for 58 yards. The Tigers added the halfback pass to their offense this week.

Coach Richard Morgan “first noticed I could throw the ball in P.E. class,” Jones said. “I’ve been asking him and asking him to let me have a pass play, and he finally did.”

Jones, usually a running back and linebacker, was the Southeastern District Defensive Player of the Year last season and has committed to Virginia.

Extra points …

Green Run’s Antonio Simmons, a two-way starter, will play this week against Princess Anne after his mandatory two-game suspension for fighting was reduced to one game. Coach Shawn Wilson said officials reviewed film of the Sept. 5 incident against First Colonial and changed the infraction to “illegal contact.” … Oscar Smith’s Phillip Sims is inching closer to South Hampton Roads’ regular-season career leader board. Sims, a junior, needs only 329 passing yards to crack the top 10 in that category and six more TD passes to make the top 10 on that list. Sims has 3,596 career regular-season yards and 43 regular-season TD passes.