State champs!
Oscar Smith rolls to first title since 2011, gains payback from ’19
Lafayette defeats Lord Botetourt in the Class 3 championship game — the Rams’ second state crown and first since 2001.
CHESAPEAKE — This was a long time coming.
Not since 2011 had Oscar Smith won a state football title, even though the Tigers had appeared in five of the past seven championship games, including in 2019 when they lost to South County.
So, to get a chance to play South County, of Lorton, again for the Class 6 state title made it even more special as the Tigers crushed the Stallions 62-21 on Saturday. It was the Tigers’ third state title, with the other coming in 2008.
“We’ve been waiting 18 months for it, and we were able to right a wrong,” said Oscar Smith coach Chris Scott, who also led Ocean Lakes to a state title in 2014. “It definitely feels good to get one.”
The Tigers jumped on South County (9-1) on their first drive as quarterback Ethan Vasko marched the team on an eight-play, 60-yard drive capped by his 3-yard touchdown run.
But the Stallions answered when quarterback Charles Miska threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Brock Spalding to tie the game at 7.
Vasko helped the Tigers regain the lead on the next possession when he took the snap and sprinted 80 yards for a touchdown to give Oscar Smith a 14-7 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, kicker Gary Parker recovered the ball that bounced off a South County player. Ten plays later, Vasko found Kole Jones on a 7-yard touchdown pass for a 21-7 lead.
Miska tried to march the Stallions back downfield but was picked off by Jones — it was one of five interceptions for the Tigers.
Kevon King scored shortly after on an 2-yard
touchdown run, and the rout was on.
“We knew we were going to get back here, and we did it,” said Vasko, who finished with 246 passing yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 173 yards and three more scores. “We got the revenge from last year, and we put it on them.”
Senior linebacker Tae’Ron Richardson couldn’t stop smiling after the victory. He remembered how bad it hurt to lose to South County in 2019.
“Before we came in, we already said it was going to be a revenge game,” said Richardson, who finished with two interceptions. “And we definitely got our revenge.”
Scott said he knew the Oscar Smith community longed for another title after finishing runner-up five times.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team to be the one to bring it home and get it done,” Scott said.
The Tigers also were proud to bring home a title in memory of beloved longtime supporter Claude Stafford Jr., who passed away earlier this month. The team honored him during the season with a special memorial near the team’s victory bell, and with a logo on the field.
“Claude is shining down on us, and we got it for him,” Scott said. “And it feels great.”