’Cats have a chance to host first round in playoffs
A roller coaster ride of a 2022 regular season will come to an end for Oak Ridge High School Friday night.
And despite being ravaged by injuries and entering the regular-season finale with a sub-.500 record, the Wildcats have plenty to play for.
Oak Ridge has a stiff road test when it travels to Jacksboro to take on Campbell County to face a high-powered Cougars offense.
Kickoff between the Wildcats (4-5 overall, 3-1 in Region 3-5A) and CCHS (5-4, 2-2) is slated for 7 p.m.
The game will be contested with second place in the region standings hanging in the balance. The winner will claim the league’s No. 2 seed and host a first-round playoff game.
The Wildcats, under first-year head coach Scott Cummings, are coming off a 21-12 non-region loss to longtime rival and Class 6A powerhouse Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett last week.
There, the Wildcats fell behind the Indians (8-1) 14-0 before storming back to pull to within 14-12 with a safety in the third quarter.
But things came unraveled for the Wildcats when they fumbled the subsequent free kick.
Cummings knows that his squad must quickly put the loss in the rear view mirror and prepare for the Cougars, who are coming off a 48-45 win at Sevier County.
“We still have a chance for a home playoff game,” Cummings said after Friday night’s loss in Tri-Cities. “We have to come out and force our will against Campbell County.”
The Cougars are coming off a record setting performance against the Smoky Bears (6-3). Campbell County sophomore quarterback Landon Hensley threw for 417 yards, shattering a school record and wide receiver Devon Jones enters the showdown against the Wildcats with 17 touchdowns this season, also a school record.
The Wildcats feature a two-pronged rushing attack. Senior Jai Hundley had 105 yards and a 1-yard touchdown plunge against the Indians. Junior De’Jauvis Dozier, another top area running back, had 39 yards in Kingsport.
Junior Ethan Garza, who was pressed in to service at quarterback after Peyton Sharpe was injured, was 13-for-34 for 115 yards and an interception against the Indians, has played solidly since becoming the Oak Ridge starter.