This past Friday Blackman football hosted #2 (in the state of Tennessee) Oakland at The Inferno. The two teams have a long-standing rivalry, and it was shown at the game as every single player who touched the field on Friday played with all their heart.
“Yeah man emotions where high especially at the end of the game” said defensive back Jaden Lark, junior.
Oakland’s offense heavily relies on its run game as they have two running backs with power 5 offers. So, Blackman’s defensive line had a big task.
“We did prepare differently for Oakland, but we weren’t worried about one guy we were prepared for everything they were going to throw at us,” said defensive lineman James Stewart, sophomore.
This preparation was needed for the game, and the entire defense took it seriously.
“All of our coaches prepared us well, including coach Crosby, Holman, Banks, and coach Gregory, and we knew we had a job to do.” said linebacker Jaden Maxwell, senior.
This game was also the Salute to Service game, so before the game started everyone was asked to thank anyone who is actively serving or anyone who did serve.
When the game started there was high energy by both sides and both defenses were locked down as the score at halftime was 3-0 Blackman.
Going into the second half, the emotions were still high. Oakland got the ball to start the half, but a bad snap went back into the endzone for a safety to put Blackman up 5-0. Blackman then got the ball back and senior Ethan Carson scored a touchdown off a 1-yard touchdown run to put Blackman up 12-0. Oakland ended up responding with a touchdown of their own and at the end of quarter 3 it was 12-7.
With the clock nearing 2:30 minutes left in the game, Oakland was on the verge of taking the lead. As their quarterback rolled out of the pocket, the ball was tipped and picked off by junior Jaden Lark.
“I’m a big-time player who makes big time plays. Thats what I do and that’s what I live for,” stated Lark.
Blackman now had the ball and needed to burn Oakland’s timeouts and run out the rest of the clock, but an unfortunate bounce led to a fumble and Oakland ended up scoring to go up 13-12.
But Blackman still had 1:30 and two timeouts and drove down and had a shot with 2 seconds as they were going to attempt a kick in field goal range. But Oakland made a good play and blocked the kick to win the game by 1 point.
After the game Oakland’s Tamari Hill ran onto Blackman’s sideline and jumped on the fence, which started a brawl between the two teams. This brawl involved both teams and spread into the Blackman student and band sections, though details are sparse.
No matter the outcome, this game gave the defense a lot of confidence due to holding Oakland to 13 points.
“We are building something special man,” said Lark.
This Friday’s game is at Siegel where Lark believes the team has some anger to let out. The team hopes you show up and show out as they take on cross-town rival Siegel.
