Oakland rallies to win 'dogfight' against Lipscomb Academy

James runs for 200 yards as Patriots score final 22 points to knock off Mustangs in matchup of top-ranked teams

MURFREESBORO – Oakland hadn’t been put in this position often under head coach Kevin Creasy – trailing by two scores in the third quarter at home against a formidable opponent.

The Patriots turned to their best player to erase that deficit, and their defense did the rest to hand visiting Lipscomb Academy its first loss by a 29-21 count at Ray Hughes Stadium on Thursday evening.

Oakland (5-0) scored the last 22 points of the contest after falling behind 21-7 in the third quarter, getting two touchdowns from Jordan James and one from Kade Hewitt in the second half to eradicate the gap. It was a game scheduled just two weeks earlier after both teams, top-ranked in their respective classifications, had lost games due to opponents’ COVID-19 issues, and Oakland players lobbied for the opportunity to play the Mustangs.

“Coach Creasy said ‘this is what y’all wanted,’” Patterson said. “’This is a dogfight, and I want to see the dogs we’ve got, the players who are not going to give up and give it their all and come back and get this win.’”

James’ second score, a 1-yard plunge, was followed up by a two-point conversion by Antonio Patterson to give the Patriots a 22-21 lead with nearly six minutes to play.

“There wasn’t really any hesitation (in going for two),” Creasy said. “Things weren’t really going our way, but we had some momentum and I felt like we had the right personnel on the field to get three yards.”

“(Oakland’s) very, very good,” Lipscomb Academy head coach Trent Dilfer said. “I think a lot of people misinterpret why they’re good, though. They have very good players, they’re very fast, they’re very physical, but they’re very well-coached.”

Hewitt’s short run put Oakland up eight with 1:39 to play, but Lipscomb Academy (4-1) was able to get down the field without any timeouts and force one final play from the 3-yard line to potentially tie the game. Eric Taylor blitzed from the back side of the play, corralling Alex Broome in the backfield as time expired to preserve the victory.

James rushed for 200 yards on 21 carries, while Broome had 133 yards and two scores for the Mustangs.

Lipscomb Academy scored on its opening possession as Broome went in from 10 yards out, then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff deep in Patriot territory.

Oakland’s defense held, however, stopping the Mustangs on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line.

“When we go back and watch the film, everyone’s going to be sick at their stomach because it’s one yard (away from the end zone), twice,” Dilfer said. “We couldn’t get the yard we needed to get, but to (Oakland’s) credit, they were able to stop us.”

Oakland’s defense also forced Lipscomb Academy’s first turnover of the season, a fumble that Korey Smith scooped up and returned 39 yards for the Patriots’ first points.

Broome also scored in the final seconds of the first half on a 25-yard pass from Luther Richesson, breaking open after Richesson extended the play by evading the Oakland pass rush. “(Lipscomb Academy’s) play-calling, we hadn’t seen those before,” Patterson said. “Those were great plays. They’re a great team.”

OAKLAND 29, LIPSCOMB ACADEMY 21

Lipscomb Academy (4-1), Oakland (5-0)	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Lipscomb Academy	7	7	7	0	21
Oakland	0	7	7	15	29

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

L – Alex Broome 10 run, 6:35. Grant Hyatt kick.

2nd Quarter

O – Korey Smith 39 fumble return, 3:12. Avory Rogers kick.

L – Broome 25 pass from Luther Richesson, 0:05. Hyatt kick.

3rd Quarter

L – Broome 1 run, 1:13. Hyatt kick.

O – Jordan James 75 run, 0:56. Rogers kick.

4th Quarter

O – James 1 run, 6:21. Antonio Patterson run.

O – Kade Hewitt 1 run, 1:39. Rogers kick.

	LIPSCOMB ACADEMY	OAKLAND
First downs	26	14
Rushes-yards	34-185	34-248
Pass completions-attempts-interceptions	27-32-0	2-4-0
Passing yards	186	15
Punts-average	1-54	2-33
Fumbles-lost	1-1	3-2
Penalties	8-80	9-75