Football: Oscar Smith cruises to state Div. 6 championship

BLACKSBURG

The clanging was expected to erupt well after midnight, maybe at 3 or 4 a.m.

Usually, the Victory Bell outside the Oscar Smith High School football locker room is rung only after home victories.

But early Sunday morning, the Tigers planned to make an exception after the five-hour drive from Virginia Tech.

“We’re gonna ring it,” wide receiver Tim Smith said. “Definitely.”

Oscar Smith, paced by a record-shattering effort by quarterback Phillip Sims and Smith, dominated from start to finish in a 54-24 victory over Osbourn in the Group AAA Division 6 state championship game Saturday at Lane Stadium.

Sims threw for 334 yards and six touchdowns and Smith had six receptions for 224 yards and four scores as Oscar Smith rung up its first state championship in any sport since the school opened in 1954.

There have been many bell rings since coach Richard Morgan arrived in 2002, but none sweeter than the latest tolls.

The Tigers completed an unbeaten season, finishing 15-0 and wiping out some painful postseason memories. Oscar Smith lost 24-21 to Westfield in last year’s state semifinals and from 2004-06 lost three consecutive Eastern Region championship games.

Oscar Smith dedicated this season to running back Lonnie Andrews Jr., a 2007 graduate who was shot and killed this past summer.

“If you really care about football and you really love your players you get so involved, and the losses just kill you and stay with you for so long,” Morgan said. “To be able to finish it off 15-0 for these kids, that’s all I really care about, that these kids are state champions.”

On Saturday, the temperature in Blacksburg dipped below 30 degrees by game time and snow fell for most of the day, covering the field with a thin layer during the first half.

That did little to slow the Sims-to-Smith connection in one of the most lopsided Division 6 state finals since Virginia teams were split into six divisions in 1986. Only Robinson’s 40-7 victory over Thomas Dale in 2001 was a bigger rout.

Sims threw touchdown passes on each of the Tigers’ first five possessions – four of them to Smith. Sims’ six TD passes and Smith’s four TD receptions are state tournament records.

“I knew what our game plan was against their defense,” Sims said. “Coach put me in position to make the plays, and all I had to do was go out there and make them. When Tim broke open for a wide-open touchdown, I knew it was going to be a big day.”

Facing mostly single coverage, Smith burned Osbourn for touchdowns of 34, 64, 54 and 54 yards before halftime. The 54-yarders came within 90 seconds of each other and gave the Tigers a 32-0 lead with 7:30 left until halftime.

Three of Smith’s scores came on the first play of an Oscar Smith possession.

“I have a role to be a playmaker on this team,” the receiver said. “When I get the opportunity to make a play I have to make the most of it.”

Underdog Osbourn (9-5) had knocked off three consecutive unbeaten teams in its improbable run to a second state title game in three years. The Eagles, though, were no match for a Tigers team that is ranked among the top 10 nationally by USA Today and ESPN.

Osbourn punted three times and failed on downs on two other possessions in the first half. A safety gave the Tigers a 34-0 halftime lead.

“They shocked us,” Osbourn coach Steve Schultze said. “We didn’t regroup in that first and second quarter and got down quick.”

The Eagles scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to tighten the final margin.

By then, Oscar Smith’s fans already were celebrating as snow fell around them.

After the final play, Morgan hugged his assistant coaches and walked away teary-eyed as some of his players made snow angels before hoisting the gold trophy.

“It means a lot for our coaches, our players and for our school,” Smith said. “We always have worked for this, and our mind was set on it since we stepped into our school and since we started playing.” Notable stats: OS-Jones 23-150, 2 TDs rushing; Sims 14-22-0, 334 TDs, 6 TDs passing; Smith 6-224, 4 TDs receiving; Osb-Jerell McFadden 10-28 rushing; Thomas Keith 15-36-0, 161 yards, 2 TDs passing; Timmy Keith 6-66, 1 TD receiving.

See a notebook from the game

See a Photo Gallery from the game