Southeastern District football: Fast-starting Oscar Smith buries Western Branch in matchup of unbeatens

It was the end of the second quarter Friday night when Western Branch quarterback Michael Brown came to the sideline complaining of a headache.

Oscar Smith has a way of doing that to its opponents and Friday was no exception because for the third consecutive week, the Tigers sent another unbeaten team home with a one-sided loss.

This time the Tigers, the top-ranked team in South Hampton Roads and in the state, beat previoulsy undefeated and fourth-ranked No. 4 Western Branch 48-7.

“This game was big because we were the only two unbeaten teams left in the district,” said Tigers wide receiver Tim Smith. “So this was for the championship.”

Oscar Smith (6-0, 5-0 Southeastern) must still win its final four games to clinch its fifth consecutive Southeastern District title. Of those four games, only one team has a .500 record.

Still, the Tigers know they must stay focused.

“We’re going to stay focused because a couple of years ago we lost to Hickory when we thought we had the Southeastern District won,” said quarterback Phillip Sims. “We have a lot of guys on the team now who played in that game. So we know what it’s going to take to go through this journey that we have left.”

Oscar Smith, which has won 16 consecutive regular-season games, scored first without any help from its offense as Smith returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown. The Tigers added to that on Perry Jones’ 5-yard touchdown run.

Smith got into the end zone again just before the second quarter when he and Sims hooked on a 42-yard touchdown strike.

“Tim is a big-play threat every time he touches the ball and there aren’t a lot of guys around here like that,” said Tigers coach Richard Morgan. “As long as we have him on our side, we know we have a chance to score.”

Smith finished the game with five receptions for 136 yards and scored three touchdowns, including a 30-yard touchdown reception in the second half.

Oscar Smith did the job on defense, too. The Tigers limited Western Branch (5-1, 4-1) to just 16 total yards in the first half and only one first down. The Tigers also scored when Roderick Benn returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown.

“We still had some doubters,” said Sims, “so we wanted to send a message and I think we did.”

Key stats: OS—P.Jones 9-72, 2 TDs rushing; Sims 9-17-0-202, 2 TDs passing.

See a Photo Gallery from the game.