Notre Dame’s Kareem Orr quickly dismissed the notion that he can do nearly everything on a football field. The evidence in the Fighting Irish’s 34-20 road victory over East Ridge would suggest otherwise Friday night.
Orr, the senior flanker and safety who has committed to play collegiately for Louisville, caught three touchdown passes, threw one from the wildcat formation and caused a key deflection that Kealey Green converted into a third-quarter interception that turned the momentum in a tight contest between nondistrict Class 3A rivals.
Orr totaled seven catches for 107 of Notre Dame’s 141 yards in the air. Orr’s 65-yard catch-and-run TD on a deep ball from quarterback Alex Darras with 10:12 left in the game put Notre Dame up by 14.
The Pioneers, however, showed tremendous grit throughout the game and mounted a comeback in the final quarter behind JoJo Tillery’s 263 yards of total offense. Tillery hit Monquel Hughes for a 38-yard TD pass with 8:31 left in the game, capping a drive that was sparked by Hughes’ 51-yard kickoff return.
Orr and Darras responded with the final TD of the night – a 4-yard, pitch-and-catch that ended a 60-yard drive for Notre Dame (1-1).