Oak Ridge cruises past Bearden 48-10
Oak Ridge heads into its bye week riding high after closing out the first portion of its schedule with a dominant road victory.
The Wildcats improved to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in Region 2-6A with a 48-10 rout of Bearden.
“There was no school, so we spent more time doing football activities” leading up to the trip to Bearden, Oak Ridge coach Derek Rang said. “I thought we played well. I mean, you know, we gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown, which is an area we’re still trying to work on, our kick coverage.
“We’ve got three big games coming up after the bye week,” Rang added. “So I thought it was a nice way to start out fall break for Oak Ridge.”
Running back Damillyan Porter provided plenty of fireworks for the Wildcats, scoring three touchdowns. He turned a swing pass out of the backfield into a 69-yard touchdown and added scoring runs of 21 and 28 yards.
“I thought it was good to see Damillyan have a big game,” Rang said. “Damillyan Porter was patient in his runs as far as hitting some cutback lanes and setting up blocks.”
Lamiere Porter added a 39-yard touchdown reception, while Malik Howard returned to make an impact in the passing game after battling an injury.
“Lamiere Porter had a touchdown reception,” Rang said. “It was good to see Malik Howard get back out there and catch, you know, six or seven passes. Malik’s obviously been dealing with an injury all year, so it was good to see him out there making some plays.
“I feel like the offensive line did a good job blocking. Like I said, our offensive line is definitely filled with underclassmen.”
Senior quarterback Brody Sparks continued his steady play, throwing two touchdown passes and adding an 11-yard scoring run.
“I think the quarterback position’s playing well,” Rang said. “Brody Sparks, I mean, when you dissect it, we’re still at 60% to 70% completion percentage. So we’re making good decisions there. He threw for two touchdowns, ran for one.”
Oak Ridge’s defense also found the end zone. Defensive back Dylan Woody returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown.
“I think that we’re kind of scrappy enough to play physical and just kind of swarm to the ball,” Rang said of the Wildcats’ defense.
Kicker Kyler Sachs converted six extra points as Oak Ridge handed Bearden its seventh consecutive loss.
Bearden fell to 0-7.
The Wildcats now get a week away from game action before beginning a crucial three-game stretch to close the regular season.