Highlanders extend district string to 27
SHENANDOAH — The Woodlands has knocked its opponent from the ranks of the unbeaten for the second consecutive week.
The Highlanders handed Oak Ridge its first loss of the season on Friday night at Woodforest Bank Stadium, using a stout defensive performance and a balanced attack on offense to pull away in the second half for a convincing 49-14 victory.
The Woodlands defeated previously unbeaten Beaumont West Brook last week as well, and now has sole possession of first place in the District 12-6A standings.
The Highlanders (4-1, 3-0) have won 27 consecutive league games and improved their all-time mark against the War Eagles (6-1, 3-1) to 14-0.
“It’s big, huge because it does a lot of things for you,” The Woodlands coach Mark Schmid said of the win. “It puts you in the driver’s seat — you control your own destiny. We want to be the No. 1 seed going into the playoffs, so we’ve taken a step closer to clinching (that) … I was pleased with the way the kids played.”
The Woodlands’ offense kept Oak Ridge off balance all night, finishing with 286 yards passing and 229 rushing for a total of 515. Quarterback Quinton Johnson was efficient, going 19-for-26 for 286 yards. He also rushed for 44 yards and connected on a pair of touchdown passes.
Oak Ridge was without starting quarterback Reinard Britz, as well as a slew of other key players. But despite the loss, coach Dereck Rush is confident his team will respond in a positive way.
“I think overall tonight, the kids fought,” he said. “They fought until the very end, so we can build off that and get better. … We had some key injuries there, but there’s no excuse. We’ll get better.”
The Woodlands moved the ball well on its first possession, but after a 31-yard completion from Johnson to Kesean Carter down the Oak Ridge 2, the ball was ripped out by defensive back Robert Bartee. The War Eagles’ junior then sprinted 54 yards up the right sideline to put his team in Highlander territory. Oak Ridge took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by linebacker Brennan Young.
Lucas Summers scored up the middle on a 3-yard run. Bryeton Gilford then gave the Highlanders their first lead of the game early in the second quarter with a 5-yard touchdown run. Gilford finished with a teamhigh 89 yards rushing.
The Highlanders added to their advantage with 23 seconds remaining in the half, as Johnson rolled out to his left and found Connor Klapesky for a 3-yard touchdown. Klapesky was a difference-maker in the first half, with seven catches for 121 yards and the score.
“Connor had a big night tonight,” Schmid said. “He stepped up big — he’s the other slot. Without Kesean last week and during practice this week, we placed a big emphasis on Connor, and he certainly answered the bell tonight. Real pleased with his performance.”
The Woodlands came out strong in the third quarter with an 89-yard drive on its opening possession. Johnson capped the journey with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Zayne Watson.
“It was huge,” Johnson said. “We’ve talked about it all year, coming out and setting the tone. It was good to set the tone in the first half, and then to come out and continue that in the second half was really good for us.”
Gilford found the end zone on a 4-yard run late in the period, and backup quarterback Casey Sunseri dove to the left pylon on a 9-yard score early in the fourth to make the score 42-7.
Tanner Lacy provided some fireworks for the War Eagles with about six minutes to play, taking a swing pass 59 yards to the house for his sixth touchdown of the season.
But the Highlanders put the final exclamation point on the game with 2:11 remaining as Kyle Trauffler returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown.