I met Stone this week along with a couple of his friends and we headed out towards Oak Ridge for the Oak Ridge vs. Maryville game. I must admit, this was one of those games that I was looking forward to more for the atmosphere as opposed to the game. Oak Ridge is arguably one of the best high school football programs in the entire state of Tennessee. So much history with the Wildcats and I was looking forward to experiencing some of that. When we got to Blankenship Field I immediately wondered if my press pass would work. It did making it 4-0 for working. I am becoming more impressed with my handy work with each passing week.
I made my way over to the Walk of Champions and just took in the fact that there have been countless players walk down this sidewalk who have gone on to play college ball, and even some who have made it to play on Sunday. A-Bombs and Football, THAT’S WHAT OAK RIDGE DOES! I was also a little excited to see the Wildcat Crossing. I’ve seen a lot of player entrances into the stadium this year, but none were as cool as the Oak Ridge Wildcats walking down the steps with the train horn blaring, the Wildcat Crossing sign flashing, and the players throwing out high fives as they made their way to the field.
Has a player ever slipped walking down the stairs due to his cleats and fell all the way down to the field?
Maryville received the ball to start the game and for a moment looked like they would own the game as expected, but after a Wildcat defensive stop, Maryville was forced to punt. Oak Ridge fumbled a hand off however, giving Maryville the ball back. It didn’t take long for the Rebels to take advantage of the opportunity. A pass to Maryville wide out Stian Romberg, who earlier in the year dropped a sure TD pass in the 1st quarter of the Alcoa game, in the back of the end zone put the Rebels up 7-0. Two plays after receiving the kickoff Oak Ridge running back Rocky Fludd broke a fifty yard run, and then quarterback Bradley Zulliger hooked up with Ethan Wheeler for a touchdown to tie the game at 7 to end the 1st quarter.
A three and out forced Maryville punter Greg Colquitt to punt and punt he did. He pinned the Wildcats within their own ten yard line. Preston Burnett scored for Maryville after the Rebels defense shut down the Wildcat offense, which would become a theme during the course of the night, putting the Rebels up 14-7. Maryville DB Jay Yoakum intercepted an Oak Ridge pass and took it all the way down to the Oak Ridge seven. Just a few plays later Brandon Cooper punched it in, putting Maryville ahead 21-7. The Wildcats went three and out again giving Maryville the ball back with enough time for Jacob West to run straight up the middle for a short TD run after a Maryville drive of about 40 yards, giving Maryville the halftime lead at 28-7.
During halftime, I had the awesome opportunity to meet Mr. Criscillis, whose son Tyler is a student at Maryville Middle School. At first this doesn’t seem interesting at all but Tyler, who attends every single Maryville home game and most of the away games, is dealing with cerebral palsy. Talking with Tyler’s father was almost as inspiring as listening to Tyler’s story. When Tyler was being born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck causing him to be distressed for over 2 hours. Unfortunately the nurse just thought that the blip on the ultrasound monitor was a technical issue and nothing important. This 2 hour fight in the womb caused him to be born blue due to a lack of oxygen, as well as his condition. The doctors only gave Tyler six days to live but Tyler is now 15 years old. It’s amazing to see how his classmates and those around him interact with him and how his father knows how blessed he is to have Tyler. The Criscillis’s are also new parents again as they now have a perfectly healthy, incredibly strong, 14 month old baby boy.
Tyler Criscillis and I. Tyler is a straight up ladies man!
After the Oak Ridge offense was staggered once again by the Maryville defense the Rebels’ offense was back on the field. This time though, the Wildcat’s defense stepped up and Alex Ingham took an interception to the house. On the ensuing kickoff Elliott Normand laid what is by far the hardest hit I’ve seen all year on the Maryville returner. The Oak Ridge defense held again and with the score 28-14 Maryville, the Rebels had to punt again and the thoughts of this actually becoming a game began to run through my head. Maybe the Wildcats can make a drive and score, maybe Oak Ridge’s defense makes another stop, maybe they tie it up and we go into over, or maybe they can fumble, Maryville recover, and Preston Burnett could score for the second time tonight and put the game away. With about 6 minutes to go in the game and Oak Ridge hanging on to the slightest glimmer of hope inside the 5 yard line, Maryville did have to make a goal line stand, and then with about 3 minutes left Stian Romberg picked off a pass allowing Maryville to just run the clock out to put the win in the back. Maryville might have won 35 – 14 but the talent that was on the Oak Ridge side of the ball was evident. In a few years, the Wildcats will be back in their place atop Tennessee high school football where they belong, rest assured Wildcat fans. The Oak Ridge band does need to realize singing along to “Hey Baby” which is being played by the winning team’s band is not really the best of ideas.
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