Once you have lived on the mountain top only the penthouse suit view seems to matter and the Oakland Patriots were more determined than ever to get back on top. With three straight state title runs getting interrupted last season on this same field by this same Houston team, the Patriots ended the 2024 prep campaign with a decisive 42-20 victory over Houston in Saturday night's 6A BlueCross Bowl.
And what a rush it was, literally. Oakland (14-1) ran the ball 46 times for 274 yards and six rushing TDs while the defense limited their counterparts to just 23 rushing yards on 19 attempts. And unlike a year ago when Houston prevailed for a 24-9 victory in a steady downpour of rain, the Patriots were able to slow talented Chandler Day just enough to own it.
"I thought we did a good job on the money downs, third and fourth downs, which they killed us with last year. I love their quarterback and their offense, but the defense stepped up. ALso I think we have had about six quarters this year where all our backs were in the game at the same time, and that was huge tonight," said Oakland boss Kevin Creasy, now a state champion for a fifth time.
The Patriots have now won four of the last six titles and five of seven and last night was the programs eight overall gold ball.
The game started slow with both teams punting on their first two possessions gaining a net total of zero yards between the 13 plays, but it went from a walk to a sprint pretty quickly after Houston's Andre Allen returned a punt 23 yards to Oakland 14. Chandler Day, a Tennessee baseball commit, threw a strike to Derrick Miller for a five-yard score to break the scoring seal, and TDs began to rain.
Oakland responded with a 42-yard pass from Kyler Creasy to Tamari Hill on a third down play to take inside the Mustangs' red zone and Tennessee signee Daune Morris, the former Red Bank star and two-rime Mr. Football Finalist, scored on the first play of the second quarter.
Houston almost answered after a 78-yard hookup from Day to Miller again, but with a fourth-and-goal at the 1, four straight running plays couldn't crack the end zone. Oakland's Taurus Allen stopped Ledeadrick James dead in his tracks for a no gain, and the Patriots went 99 yards in just seven plays with the smooth Morris galloping the final 67 yards for the score and a 14-7 lead.
The Mustangs took it 67 yards on their next drive to knot it at the break with Day pitching another strike to Andre Allen from 27 yards away.
Oakland came out on fire in the third, though, scoring TDs on all three of its drives including their opening possession after Creasy hit Chase Bandy for a 62-yard hookup to the 2 where Tutt rammed it home for the 21-14 lead. Sensing a momentum shift, Houston went for it deep in its own territory on another fourth down try, and once again James got stopped for a three yard loss by Craig Tutt.
With a short field, Oakland need just three plays to cover the 33 yards with Morris again scoring the 3. After a punt, the Patriots added a 60-yard drive that Hill closed out with a 22-yard rushing TD and all of a sudden it was 35-14 heading to the homestretch.
The Mustangs showed some fight, finally joining the scoring parade again, as Day completed four passes, the final of which found Miller for a 19-yard score, but the ensuing onside kick was almost returned for a score by Chase Bandy taking it to the 20. Tutt, the Mr. Football finalist, added the Patriots' sixth rushing TD with a 21-yard jaunt to push it back out to 42-20.
Penalties marred an otherwise explosive game with Oakland getting yellow flagged 16 times for 126 yards which included an ejection of Morris and Houston 10 for 110 yards, and there were several offsetting penalties.
Morris wound up with 145 rushing yards and three TDs while Tutt added 84 and Hill another 44. Creasy finished 5of-9 for 11 yards. Kullen Williams led the defense with seven tackles as the Patriots had five tackles for lost yardage.
Day was really good, tossing 256 yards and the three scores with Miller nabbing five of them for 119 yards and Hill five for 78 yards. Owen Waggener had 10 tackles, a sack and a pair of tackles for loss as Houston failed to become the first Shelby County team to ever win back-to-back state titles.
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OAKLAND
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0
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14
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21
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7
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--42
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HOUSTON
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7
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7
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0
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6
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-- 20
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SCORING SUMMARY:
First Quarter
HOU 05:01 Derrick Miller 5 pass from Chandler Day (Denetri Thomas kick) 7-0
Second Quarter
OAK 11:55 Daune Morris 1 run (kick failed) 7-6
Oak 04:02 Daune Morris 67 run (Chase Bandy pass) 7-14
HOU 01:03 Andre Allen 27 pass from Chandler Day (Demetri Thomas kick) 14-14
Third Quarter
OAK 08:12 Tamari Hill 2 run (Jose Hernandez kick)14-21
OAK 05:44 Daune Hill 3 run 9Jose Hernandez kick) 14-28
OAK 00:34 tamari Hill 22 run (Jose Hernandez kuck) 14-35
Fourth Quarter
HOU 09:10 Derrick Miller 19 pass from Chandler Day (kick failed) 20=35
OAK 08:07 Craig Tutt 21 run (Jose Hernandez kick) 20-42
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TEAM STATS
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Oakland
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Houston
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First Downs
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17
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13
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Rushes-Yards
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46-274
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19-23
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Passing Yards
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11
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256
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Total yards
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385
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279
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Passing (Comp-Att-Int)
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5-9-0
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16-31-0
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Penalties-Yards
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10-110
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16-126
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Punts-Average
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2-35.5
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3-41.0
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Fumbles-Lost
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1-0
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1-0
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Third Down Conversions
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4-9
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2-11
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Time of Possession
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28:02
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19:58
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Individual Stats
Rushing: Daune Morris 16-145; Craig Tutt 16-84; Tamari Hill 6-44; Avery Haynesworth 1-8; Bryan Smotherman 1-6; Will Millsap 1-1; TEAM 1-(-5); Kyler Creasy 4-(-9) (OAK); Ladeaderick James 8-18; Chandler Day 10-3; Marcelles Davis
Passing: Kyler Creasy 5 of 9 for 111 yards (OAK); Chandler Day 16 of 31 for 256 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception (HOU).
Receiving Daune Morris 2-(-7); Chase Bandy 1-62; Tamari Hill 1-42; Craig Tutt 1-14 (OAK); Derrick Miller 5-119; Andre Allen 5-78; Canon Day 3-27; Ladeaderick James 1-17; Marcelles Davis 1-8; Connor Brown 1-7 (HOU).
Most Valuable Player: Craig Tutt (Oakland).
Records: Oakland 14-1; Houston 12-3...
(Contact James Beach at 1134james@gmail.com)