Oscar Smith wins state football championship

CHARLOTTESVILLE

The Oscar Smith coaching staff watched outside their locker room as Phoebus celebrated its Group AAA Division 5 state title Saturday afternoon.

"We were just watching them because they are a good team," said Oscar Smith coach Richard Morgan. "But we felt like we're a good team, too. So we were thinking, 'Let's go out and get ours.' And we went out and took care of business."

The Tigers (14-1) celebrated three hours later with a 47-21 victory over Centreville to win the Division 6 title at University of Virginia's Scott Stadium. It capped an incredible season that saw Oscar Smith win 14 consecutive games after losing its season opener to nationally-ranked Gilman (Md.). It also was the Tigers' second title in four seasons; they also won in 2008.

"These are great kids, and my coaches did a tremendous job and really outdid themselves this year," Morgan said. "I'm just so proud of everyone."

But things didn't start out well for the Tigers. After the opening kickoff, Oscar Smith started on its own 6. It got worse. On the first play from scrimmage, center Keeland Jennette snapped the ball to quarterback J.J. Williamson, but Williamson wasn't ready and it went through the back of the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 Centreville lead.

"It was a horrible start," Morgan said. "We didn't do anything like we were supposed to. But we didn't panic."

Williamson, Jennette and the Tigers regrouped quickly. After the Tigers' defense stopped Centreville at the Oscar Smith 30, Williamson led the Tigers on a 13-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by running back J.C. Coleman.

The Tigers kept rolling from there. After another defensive stop, Williamson threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Melvin Vaughn. That was followed by a 25-yard touchdown pass to Zack Jones and the Tigers led 21-2 with 11:04 left in the second quarter.

"They certainly have a lot of weapons," Centreville coach Chris Haddock said. "And they made plays when they needed to."

It didn't help that the Wildcats played mostly without defensive end Ken Ekanem. The four-star recruit, who last week had 10 tackles and 4-1/2 sacks in the state semifinal, injured his right leg in the first quarter and never returned.

Even he might not have been able to slow down Williamson and the Tigers. Williamson threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns. And Coleman did the rest. Coleman, who has committed to Virginia Tech, missed three regular-season games with an ankle injury and hasn't been 100 percent since his return. He rushed for only 269 yards in the four games since his injury. But he played well in the final game with three touchdowns.

"I had a rough playoffs and wasn't healthy the whole time," said Coleman, who finished with 63 yards. "But my dad told me I was going to have a big game today, and I went out there and did it."

The defense also played big, including defensive back Josh Townsend's 43-yard interception for a touchdown and the play of linebacker Rhakeem Stallings. He had nine tackles - two for losses - two sacks and forced a fumble to earn his second state ring.

"I got moved up to varsity and played with the 2008 team," said Stallings, who committed to James Madison. "But this year was sweeter. And with this being my last game, I put it all out on the field. So I went out with a bang and now I have two rings."

Afterward, Morgan gave praise to all of his players.

"I'm so happy for them because a lot of people doubted us after we lost our opening game," he said. "I heard a lot of negative things and nobody had us in the conversation when they talked about (the state title). And here we are in Charlottesville with another state title. It doesn't get any better than this."

Larry Rubama, (757) 446-2273 larry.rubama@pilotonline.com