OHS vs. Bledsoe Co.

There were big implications on the line as the OHS Indians traveled south on Friday to take on region opposition Bledsoe County. A win and Oneida would host the fi rst round of the playoffs as they would secure second place in the region. A loss would put the Indians on the road as the three seed. The Indians fell behind early to the Warriors and were never able to really gain traction as Bledsoe County would pull away for the 28-0 victory over Oneida.The Warriors would receive the opening kickoff and go to work quickly. Just three minutes into the game, BCHS would take it 55 yards on six plays capped by a four-yard TD run from Justin Melton. The PAT from Mauricio Rojas was good, pushing the Warriors out to a 7-0 lead. Oneida only pos-session of the fi rst quarter was a solid one, but three penalties would hamper the drive as the Indians would turn it over on downs. The Warriors would carry their next drive into the second quarter as Austyn Rains would break away for a 23-yard TD run, fi nishing off a 70-yard drive that took another four and a half minutes off the clock. Rojas’s PAT was good and BC lead 14-0. The Indians would get two more chances in the second, but neither would come to fruition as they went to the locker room trailing by two scores.The opening kick of the second half was supposed to go to the Indians, but a kick returning miscue would see the Warriors recover the kick and take possession. Two plays later, Rains would scamper 18 yards into the endzone for a score. The point after from Rojas was good and Bledsoe County’s lead extended to 21-0. After an Indians three-and-out, the Warriors would put together possibly their best drive of the game. Tallying 14 plays and 68 yards, BC took over seven minutes off the clock and capped the drive with a 22-yard TD strike from Johnathan Thomas to Zane Walker. The PAT was good as the Warriors now led 28-0. Neither team would score in the fourth as Oneida would fall in the con-test, giving them a third-place fi nish in the region and an opening round road game in the playoffs.Oneida tallied just 84 yards of offense in the game on 38 plays. Caden Rector fi nished the night 4-17 through the air for 42 yards with 19 yards on the ground also on seven carries. Caleb Reagan added fi ve yards on fi ve carries. Levi James caught two passes for 9 yards. Landon Limburg, Hayden Brawn-er, and William Hill caught passes for 17, 16, and 12 yards respectively. Defensively, three Indians fi nished the night in double-fi gure tackles. Ben Gilbert led the way with 14 total stops (four solo). Levi James and Braden Burchfi eld each had 10 total tackles. James had six solo stops and a fumble recov-ery. Burchfi eld had fi ve solo tackles with a pass breakup.The Indians now turn their attention to the TSSAA Class AA State Playoffs where they will go on the road for the second straight season in the fi rst round. This time, they will head east to Elizabethton as they will face the Warriors of Happy Valley. This will be the third time the two teams have met with both previous contests being TSSAA opening round games. The Indians dropped the fi rst game in 2017 22-0, avenging that loss the next year with a 23-7 win. Kickoff is set for 7 pm. IHSN will have coverage of the game beginning at 6 pm.