Football: Oscar Smith-Ocean Lakes Div. 6 final preview

VIRGINIA BEACH

There were newcomers, and then there were Brandon Sharpe and Courtney Tate.

The duo, penciled in as the starting defensive ends for the Ocean Lakes High School football team, were the most inexperienced players on a unit with seven new starters.

“We knew their potential, but seeing it and talking about it and doing it are different things,” coach Chris Scott said. “We didn’t know what they were going to do when the Friday lights turned on.”

Now, they know.

Sharpe and Tate are 12 games into their senior seasons and have turned any question marks into exclamation points. The pair has totaled 30 sacks and solidified a defense that has led Ocean Lakes to its first unbeaten season since the school opened in 1994.

The Dolphins (12-0) get their stiffest test today when they play Oscar Smith (12-0) in the Eastern Region Division 6 championship game at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.

The winner advances to the Group AAA state semifinals and travels to play the Northern Region champion. Chantilly (9-3) plays Oakton (12-0) on Saturday for the Northern crown.

While today’s Eastern Region game is unfamiliar territory for Ocean Lakes, it’s especially new ground for Sharpe and Tate. Both moved to Virginia Beach last school year, Tate from Charlotte and Sharpe from Portsmouth.

Tate, a 6-3, 185-pounder, had played football only in recreation leagues before this season; Sharpe, 6-1 and 205 pounds, is in his first full season since ninth grade. They’ve learned on the job together. Sharpe has 16 sacks, Tate 14.

“We’re friends off the field, and we talk to each other about what we do on the field,” Tate said. “He tells me stuff to get better, and I’ll give him suggestions, too.”

Tate and Sharpe are part of a defense that has surrendered only 56 points all season. The Dolphins have given up seven or fewer points in each of their past six games.

They’ve done it with just four returning starters: defensive backs Greg Ringo and Shamarko Thomas, linebacker Jonathan Godfrey and lineman Wes Moulton.

“Their defense is well-coached and in the right spots, never out of position,” Oscar Smith coach Richard Morgan said. “They’re going to make you drive the ball down the field and not give up any cheap points.”

This evening, Ocean Lakes faces an Oscar Smith team that Scott calls “the most powerful offense we’ve faced all year long and definitely the best defense we’ve seen all year long.”

The Tigers led South Hampton Roads in total offense, points scored, total defense and points allowed during the regular season. They have a 2,000-yard quarterback in Phillip Sims and a 1,000-yard running back in Perry Jones, who has 535 yards in two playoff games.

Oscar Smith is making its fifth consecutive region championship game appearance after winning the program’s first region title last year.

“It’s a great test, and we’re excited about it, and that’s what we’ve worked for,” Scott said. “We want to play the best teams and the best athletes and let our playing do the talking.”

Staff picks

Jami says Oscar Smith 28, Ocean Lakes 13

Larry says Oscar Smith 34, Ocean Lakes 7