Cavs whip War Eagles with 31-point burst
SHENANDOAH — College Park scored 31 unanswered points to erase an early deficit and beat rival Oak Ridge 45-28 at Woodforest Bank Stadium on Friday night.
The win is the second in a row for the Cavaliers (4-3 overall, 2-3 in District 15-6A). It’s also the second straight victory over the War Eagles (2-4, 1-3). The only other times College Park won two consecutive games in the series came in 2010 and 2011.
“You never want to give up 28 points in the first half,” College Park coach Lonnie Madison said. “It was kind of a shootout early, 28-24 at half. My credit goes to the defensive coaches. They came in at halftime and made adjustments. The defense pitched a shutout (in the second half ) and made some huge fourth-down stops to get us some good field position and set up scores.”
Oak Ridge led by 14 points twice before halftime. In the second half, the War Eagles only ran 21 offensive plays as College Park kept possession and drained the clock.
“I think our kids fought,” Oak Ridge coach Mark Schmid said. “I think our kids played with class and character. You always want to come out with the win but, at the same time, if your kids are handling themselves with class and character and they fight until the end, you’ve got to feel good about your football team.”
Both teams established the run early. In the first half, six rushing touchdowns were scored. Neither offense managed a passing touchdown.
Oak Ridge senior Adrian Murdaugh started the scoring with a 22-yard sweep. After College Park lost a fumble on its first play from scrimmage, the War Eagles got a 2-yard rushing TD from Alton McCaskill.
Murdaugh and McCaskill were two-thirds of a trio that led the way for the War Eagles on the ground. Murdaugh finished with 65 yards on seven carries, McCaskill 36 on seven and Kywon Morgan 92 on 10.
College Park’s defense scored late in the first quarter when Curt Evangelister recovered a fumble near the Oak Ridge sideline and returned it 38 yards to cut the Cavs’ deficit in half.
On the first play of the second quarter, Kywon Morgan ran 64 yards for a TD to put the War Eagles back in front by two scores. Senior Gabe Morgan soon cut the College Park deficit to one score when he capped a 13-play drive with a 23-yard TD run.
Gabe Morgan rushed for 161 yards on 26 carries, and sophomore Dylan De Angelo had 125 yards on 22 carries to lead College Park.
“Can’t say enough about Gabe Morgan,” Madison said. “He started at safety (on defense) the whole game, and we needed him tonight to carry a load at tailback. He played two ways the whole night. Dylan De Angelo led the team in rushing last week and did a great job again this week.”