■ 20 September 2008 | 11:11 PM
Staff writer Jami Frankenberry checks in with some tidbits on the top-ranked Tigers’ blowout victory in Chesapeake:
Bray’s OK
Great Bridge QB Trey Bray was back home Saturday, one day after suffering a neck injury in Oscar Smith’s victory over the Wildcats.
Great Bridge coach Pete Gale said Saturday that Bray has a Grade I concussion and will miss next week’s game against Hickory.
Bray was injured late in the first quarter when he was tackled by Oscar Smith LB Perry Jones. Bray was strapped to a stretcher and taken to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center.
Jones was flagged for a 15-yard personal foul on the play. Gale said after the game that it was a spearing call, and such a penalty should come with an ejection. The penalty, though, was for a helmet-to-helmet hit. It was not a call for spearing.
Gale added: “I know Perry, and that’s not what he does. They’re a clean football team and they play clean.”
Smith’s efficient offense
A week after starting slow against Indian River, Oscar Smith bolted out of the gates Friday.
The Tigers scored on five of their six first-half possessions against Great Bridge. Oscar Smith also scored on Roderick Benn’s INT return and a safety en route to a 43-0 halftime lead.
Yes, a 43-0 halftime lead.
“We came out a little slow last week and it showed in the final score,” Sims said. “Tonight we came out on fire and opened things up.”
Added WR Tim Smith: “We just executed our plays and everybody knew their job and did it well.”
Here’s how Oscar Smith’s first-half possessions went:
* Four plays, TD (Perry Jones 4 run)
* Four plays, punt
* Nine plays, TD (Jones 9 run)
* Two plays, TD (Daniel Vaughn 3 pass from Sims)
* One play, TD (Smith 54 pass from Sims on a flea-flicker)
* Two plays, TD (Shawn Roscoe 42 run on an end-around)
Great Bridge’s offense
The Wildcats were held to minus-8 yards before halftime.
Here’s how Great Bridge’s first-half possessions went:
* Four plays, punt
* One play, INT (returned by Benn for TD)
* Three plays, punt
* Three plays, lost fumble
* Three plays, punt
* Two plays, safety (ball snapped through end zone)
* Three plays, punt
Putting the starters back in
Oscar Smith led 43-0 at halftime and started the second half with its reserves. But after Great Bridge scored two quick TDs, Tigers coach Richard Morgan sent his starters back on the field.
The Wildcats pulled within 43-14 and stopped the running clock. (The clock runs continuously when a team leads by 35-plus points).
“We told the seconds ‘You’re going to play the second half,’ and then they go in and give up two touchdowns,’ in a matter of 10 plays,” Morgan said. “We’re not going to stand for that. Plus, at that point the clock stopped running. It wasn’t a running clock anymore, it was a full game.”
When Oscar Smith scored four minutes into the fourth quarter, the continuous clock began, and the Tigers’ starters were done.
By the numbers
6 – Players who caught passes for Oscar Smith
23 – Number of offensive plays for both teams in the first half
11.4 – Average yards gained per play by Smith in the first half
Minus-0.4 – Average yards gained per play by GB in the first half
Notable stats
Oscar Smith: Tim Smith 5-122, 2 TDs receiving, 1-11 rushing, 55-yard kickoff return; Phillip Sims 11-18-0, 203, 3 TDs passing
Great Bridge: Trey Bray 2-6-1, 15 yards passing; Whitehurst 5-11-2, 114, 2 TDs passing; Logan Heastie 4-49 receiving; Carvin Powell 3-80, 2 TDs receiving.
Up next
Oscar Smith at Grassfield; Great Bridge at Hickory; both Friday at 7 p.m.
-- Jami Frankenberry
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