The 2021 BlueCross Bowl is now in the books after a great three-day run at Finley Stadium and the Oakland Patriots finished another successful football season the same way they started, with a double-digit win.
The Patriots, who call Murfreesboro home, won their second straight 6A title and third in four years with a 43-26 victory over the Summit Spartans.
The win allows Oakland to finish the year at 15-0 and extend its winning streak to 30 games while Summit suffers its first loss after 14 wins this fall and had its 25-game winning streak snapped.
It was a battle of two defending state champs who both entered the final contest unbeaten after 14 games, but it was the Patriots who exited the stadium with the biggest smile.
Kevin Creasy has been the Oakland coach for the past seven years and he’s built a reputation for putting tough, hard-nosed teams on the field. He was all smiles once the final horn sounded.
“This was a high-powered game with big-time players on both sides, but it was two championship programs, so we had to make every possession count,” Creasy said after all the awards had been distributed.
“We had some big plays and we converted some big third-down situations, but I thought we played pretty good football for the most part,” he added.
Jordan James was the man for the Patriots as he gained 232 yards on 27 rushing attempts for an 8.6-yard average and he had touchdown runs of 29 and 5 yards. He also caught a pair of passes covering 57 yards, so he was a natural to be honored as the game’s most valuable player.
“We try to take it one game at a time, but we all figured we’d play those guys in the last game,” the 5-10, 200-pound senior said after the game.
“It feels great to win another state title and it’s unusual for a team to go undefeated. We knew tonight’s game would be tough, but every guy I know wants to end his high school career with a state title. I’m very fortunate to be able to do that tonight,” the talented young man who has committed to play at the University of Georgia next fall added.
The Spartans took the opening kickoff and marched 79 yards in 10 plays to take an early lead when Keaton Wade scored on a 17-yard run with 7:27 left in the opening quarter. The extra point kick was wide.
The Patriots didn’t waste any time regaining the advantage as they moved 62 yards on six plays, taking just 2:56 to get the lead following a 29-yard run by Jordan and Avery Rogers kick.
Antonio Patterson helped extend that lead when he caught a perfectly-thrown pass down the middle by quarterback Kade Hewitt for a 71-yard TD strike with 59 seconds to play. Rogers then made the second of five straight extra-point kicks and the Patriots were on their way.
The Spartans got within two points at 14-12 on a two-yard run by Destin Wade with 6:46 left before halftime, but again, the conversion failed.
The Patriots then scored two touchdowns in a row and had a comfortable 28-12 lead at intermission.
Destin Wade scored on a two-yard run with 3:58 left in the third quarter to get within 28-18, but the Patriots were able to score every time Summit scored and the game never got any closer.
The Patriots finished the game with 508 total yards, including 348 on the ground and another 160 through the air. Summit countered with 384 total yards, including 247 on the ground and 137 through the air.
While James was the rushing leader with his 232 yards, Patterson offered great support with 107 yards on 14 carries. Patterson was the leading receiver with the 71-yard TD catch while James had two catches for 57 yards.
Destin Wade was the rushing leader for Summit with 165 yards on 27 carries and he also completed eight passes for another 137 yards, including a 69-yarder to Brady Pierce for the Spartans final TD with 10:05 to play.
OAKLAND 14 14 0 15 -- 43
SUMMIT 6 6 6 8 -- 26
SUM – Keaton Wade 17 run (kick failed), 7:27 left in first;
OAK – Jordan James 29 run (Avery Rogers kick), 4:23 left in first;
OAK – Antonio Patterson 71 pass from Kade Hewitt (Rogers kick), 0:59 left in first;
SUM – Destin Wade 2 run (run failed); 6:46 left in second;
OAK – James 5 run (Rogers kick), 3:23 left in second;
OAK – Khalil James 14 pass from Hewitt (Rogers kick), 0:24 left in second;
SUM – Destin Wade 2 run (pass failed), 3:58 left in third;
OAK – Patterson 8 run (Rogers kick), 11:13 left in fourth;
SUM – Brady Pierce 69 pass from Destin Wade (Destin Wade run), 10:05 left in fourth;
OAK – Patterson 5 run (James pass from Patterson), 4:03 left in fourth.
SUMMIT TEAM STATS OAKLAND
20 FIRST DOWNS 25
39-247 RUSHES-YARDS 45-348
137 PASSING YARDS 160
58-384 TOTAL PLAYS-YARDS 54-508
8-19-1 PASSES (COM-ATT-INT) 6-9-1
4-36 PENALTIES-YARDS 4-55
1-32.0 PUNTS-AVERAGE 1-17.0
1-0 FUMBLES-LOST 1-0
INDIVIDUAL STATS:
RUSHING: Destin Wade 27 for 165; Keaton Wade 9 for 71; Brady Pierce 3 for 11 (Summit); Jordan James 27 for 232; Antonio Patterson 14 for 107; Kade Hewitt 2 for 14 (Oakland).
PASSING: Destin Wade 8 of 19 with one interception for 137 yards (Summit); Kade Hewitt 6 of 9 with one interception for 160 yards (Oakland).
RECEIVING: Brady Pierce 4 for 96; Austin Harvey 2 for 26; Tanner Shake 1 for 10 (Summit); Jordan James 2 for 57; Isaiah Horton 2 for 18; Antonio Patterson 1 for 71; Khalil James 1 for 14 (Oakland).
RECORDS: Oakland 15-0; Summit 14-1.
MVP: Jordan James (Oakland).
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)