No. 1 ranked Oakland showed no signs of slowing down Friday night as the Patriots dismantled the Mt. Juliet Golden Bears 49-17 in the second round of the TSSAA state playoffs at Ray Hughes Stadium.
The Patriots will now face Riverdale this Friday in the state quarterfinals.
Oakland standout running back Jordan James rushed for 204 yards on 12 carries and four touchdowns in the rout.
“My offensive line opened things up for me all night,” the junior said. “Our offense has a great relationship. (The offensive line) takes care of their job and (the skill position players) are rewarded with big holes and easy scores.”
Mt. Juliet converted a 30-yard Connor Kowalski field goal moments after blocking a Patriot punt in the first quarter. However, the Golden Bears’ initial success sparked something on the Oakland sideline that ignited 42 unanswered points that spanned into the third quarter.
“I thought our guys responded real well to the blocked punt and got out to a much-needed hot start,” Oakland coach Kevin Creasy said.
James scored all four touchdowns on the ground, including three consecutive to jump-start the onslaught.
“We have some nagging injuries, but luckily for us (James) is healthy and we are able to give him the ball and let him make plays,” Creasy said.
Mt. Juliet couldn’t right the ship due to the disruptive nature of the Patriots defense. Creasy was impressed with the effort to hold the Golden Bears to 51 yards of offense in the first half and 33 rushing yards in the second half.
“It has taken some time to get our defense where it needs to be with limited practice and playing young guys,” he said. “We are playing the best defense we have played all year.”
A defense with a number of contributors, Ethan McLaurin stood out with eight solo tackles, including four for loss and a sack.
“(Oakland) has a really good team, and when you play good teams it leaves no room to make mistakes,” Mt. Juliet coach Trey Perry said. “We did not execute early on, and the game just got out of control.”
Oakland’s youth shined with a pair of sophomore running backs, Eric Taylor and Khalil James, who rushed for a touchdown apiece.
Patriots’ quarterback Ian Schlachter completed 7 of 8 passes for 119 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown to Bryson Dobbs to round out the scoring. Junior receiver Isaiah Horton led the team with four catches for 68 yards.
Mt. Juliet answered with a pair of second-half touchdowns. Back-up quarterback Brice Messenger completed a short pass to Camron Malone, who ran 70 yards for a score. Conlin Baggott scored a 1-yard touchdown after a short field set up by a Patriot fumble.
“We did not come here for a consolation prize and I expected to fight back like we did, and that is the effort I know my team has,” Perry said. “(The late touchdowns) is how you want to send your seniors off. We have asked a lot of these kids this year, especially, and it is a testament to their character and the team they are by fighting back.”
Oakland advanced to its eighth consecutive quarterfinals with a regular-season matchup against Riverdale that was won by the Patriots 30-7.
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