With win at Clinton, Wildcats take control of region
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Oak Ridge’s Will Pressley (2) pushes for a few extra yards after the catch while trying to escape the grasp of Clinton’s Jayson Graham (0). - Tony Cox
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Oak Ridge’s Blaine Stansberry (1) had 187 yards pass- ing and one touchdown during the Wildcats’ trip to Clinton last Friday night. - Tony Cox
Oak Ridge High School football Coach Derek Rang wasn’t around for his team’s Region 3-5A game at Clinton Friday night.
But he certainly would’ve been pleased with the Wildcats for overcoming a mountain of adversity against the Dragons, who had visions of capturing a key league win.
Oak Ridge overcame the absence of its head coach and some self-inflicted wounds to erase a one-point halftime deficit to claim a 37-24 victory on the road.
Rang was serving a one-game suspension after Oak Ridge (4-1 overall, 2-0 in the region) was flagged for three sideline unsportsmanlike-conduct infractions in its 14-3 loss at McMinn County on Sept.15, causing him to be ejected.
That made things tough enough for the Wildcats. And a trip to Clinton is never going to be easy, especially not this season as the Dragons (2-4, 1-1) are looking for their program to turn the corner.
Oak Ridge, however, didn’t make things any easier for itself out of the gate. The Wildcats had three turnovers and found themselves trailing 18-17 at the half.
But they straightened things up after the break, scoring twice and engineering a 10-play, 93-yard drive where running back De’Jauvis Dozier nearly single-handedly drove the Wildcats down the field, capping the possession with a 4-yard scoring dash and giving Oak Ridge a 31-18 lead.
The drive was just part of Dozier’s big night as he lugged the ball 41 times, amassing 204 yards and scoring two touchdowns and putting interim Coach Joe Gaddis at ease after a long week of worrying.
Gaddis, a veteran coach with two stints as Oak Ridge’s head man, returned for the first time since 2021. He now serves as the school’s athletic director.
“I was a wreck all week because I don’t want to lose to Clinton, ever,” Gaddis said. “And to win this game, it puts us in the driver’s seat in the region.
“I wanted to win this game for Coach Rang because I don’t think he should’ve ever been out. I didn’t want to lose this game and have him have to deal with it at all, but the coaching staff and the players did a great job.”
Oak Ridge’s offense was particularly generous in the first half as Clinton’s Chauncey Felts recovered a Wildcat fumble and rumbled 50 yards for a score, and D’Mon Marable returned a Blaie Stansberry interception for a touchdown with 19 seconds to go before halftime.
The Wildcats didn’t turn the ball over after halftime and slowed Clinton quarterback Joshuah Keith a bit during that stint.
Keith made a pair of long fourth-down conversions after averting sacks. He also threw for more than 300 yards in the contest.
Dozier scored twice over the first 24 minutes of the game for the Wildcats, who travel to Fountain City to face Knox Central Friday night.
The Bobcats (4-2) are coming off a 45-35 win at South-Doyle last week.