Ooltewah 26, Oak Ridge 17
The star: Rashun Freeman led Ooltewah to victory with 145 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown each rushing and receiving. Also, his interception inside the 10 in the fourth quarter turned back a late Wildcats’ drive.Up next: Ooltewah will host Rhea County next Friday.
Ooltewah's Rashun Freeman was not a factor in the kicking game Friday night.
Freeman did just about everything else, however, to lead the Owls past Oak Ridge 26-17 in a TSSAA Class 5A football playoff game at Ooltewah.
Ooltewah (10-2) will host Rhea County (9-3) next Friday at 7 p.m. in a rematch of a 16-0 victory by the Owls at Ooltewah on Sept. 18.
"It ought to be a heck of a game," Ooltewah coach Mac Bryan said. "We're looking forward to that. It was a great ballgame back in week five. I'm sure it'll be another one."
Freeman was the Owls' leading rusher with 70 yards on 11 carries, including a 46-yard touchdown. He also led his team in receiving with seven receptions for 75 yards and another touchdown.
Perhaps his most timely play was his interception near the goal line and return to the 26, from where Ooltewah was able to run out the final 3:26.
"He's one of the most versatile players I've been around, and I've been around a long time. He does everything," said Bryan, who has also spent time as a college assistant. "The last three weeks we've really involved him more and more on offense."
Freeman's touchdowns coupled with 36- and 28-yard field goals by Aleksander Toser enabled the Owls to take a 20-0 lead by the 7:43 mark of the second quarter. Two turnovers, including a punt that bounced off the back of an Oak Ridge player, hurt the Wildcats early.
"We hadn't made mistakes like that all year," Oak Ridge coach Joe Gaddis said. "That first quarter was a disaster."
Oak Ridge (10-2) turned to its running game midway through the second quarter and had a 78-yard scoring march on 12 consecutive runs. An Ooltewah fumble led to a field goal on the last play of the half, which ended 20-10.
"Running the ball helped our defense," Gaddis said. "It kept them off the field. We got into a pretty good groove. Time was not an issue. If you're going to fall behind by 20, it's best to do it with three quarters of the game left."
The Wildcats got within 20-17 late in the third quarter and had a chance to tie early in the fourth, but Brandon Nickle narrowly missed a 47-yard field-goal try.
A short Oak Ridge punt set Ooltewah up at the Wildcats' 28 with 8:16 to play, and on third-and-2 quarterback London Elrod passed to Ethan Walls in the right side of the end zone. Elrod ended up 16-for-29 for 170 yards.
After the kickoff, the Wildcats moved from their 45 to the Owls' 11, which set the stage for Freeman's interception.
Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins, who has committed to play at Tennessee, was limited to one catch for 12 yards before leaving the game with a knee injury late in the first half. Gaddis said he thought Higgins likely would have been able to play next week had the Wildcats won.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at sports@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/ KelleySmiddie.