Oakland football completes second straight perfect regular season

Cecil Joyce
Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

MURFREESBORO - The numbers are pretty simple, and rather daunting for Oakland High football opponents.

Three years. Three region championships. Two perfect regular seasons. A 29-game regular-season winning streak.

Those are numbers Oakland has produced in the three seasons since Kevin Creasy took over as head coach.

Oakland's Woodi Washington leaps high to haul in a 15-yard touchdown strike from Brevin Linnell during Thursday's 56-7 win over Warren County.

"I give him and the assistant coaches all the credit," said Oakland senior running back Jeron Rooks. "The atmosphere has changed a lot. We all came together and bonded during summer practice."

Top-ranked Oakland secured its second consecutive perfect regular season with Thursday night's 56-7 win over visiting Warren County.

The Patriots (10-0, 6-0) had already locked up first place in Region 3-6A and were playing simply for momentum and to keep the regular-season streak alive.

"It means a lot," said Oakland senior defensive lineman Blake Spencer. "It's nice (to go 10-0)."

Oakland has lost just three times in Creasy's three years thus far. The first game of the 2015 season against Hoover (Ala.) is the only blemish in the regular season. A semifinals loss to Maryville in 2015 and a BlueCross Bowl setback to Whitehaven last season are the others.

"Our team has always been the kind that takes the field and believes we are going to win," said Creasy, who is 36-3 at Oakland. He spent several years and won state titles at Trousdale County.

"When everybody saw our (2017) schedule, they counted us out. A lot of people believed (Friday night's) Blackman-Riverdale game would be for the region championship."

Oakland has continued to dominate its opponents, much in the same fashion as last year's 14-1 squad.

"One thing that's been consistent is we're lucky to keep the core group of coordinators and coaches together," Creasy said. "In three years, we've lost one-third of the (current seniors) we started with, but the guys who stuck around know what we expect."

Oakland took a 42-0 halftime lead over Warren County and played the entire second half under the TSSAA Mercy Rule (running clock). Warren County scored a late touchdown on Oakland's reserves.

Rooks scored on a 51-yard TD and had 93 yards on just two carries. Junior Christian Cantrell had a 30-yard TD run to go with a 25-yard reception while junior Woodi Washington had an interception and 15-yard TD reception.

Oakland will await its first-round 6A playoff opponent, which will be a home game Nov. 3.

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.

 

Oakland's Justin Jefferson rambles for a first-half touchdown during a 56-7 win over Warren County Thursday.