On the Mark
By D. Mark Mitchell
The OHS football team (5-2, R-4-0) dominated RCHS (0-2, R-0-1) last Friday night 49-7 in Bulldog Stadium.
The Dawgs scored early and often, building a 49-0 lead at halftime. The Warriors scored their only points on a 70-yard pass for a TD. The extra point made it 49-7.
Six different players scored for Opelika. Erik Watts started the scoring with back to back TDs on a 44-yard pass from Finley and a 16-yard run for a score, both in the first quarter. Quarterback Malik Finley threw back-to-back touchdown passes for touchdowns, a 33-yarder to Grady Bynum and a 60-yard pass to Kaden Cooper.
The last three TD’s came from a 30-yard punt return, a JD Tolbert rush of 8 yards and an 11-yard Jayvontay Conner reception from reserve QB Jackson Bates.
Place kicker Baker Rowton made all seven extra points.
Russell County scored their only points in the game in the third quarter; Quarterback Dammuon Griffey hit Damarious Strong for a 70-yard TD pass.
OHS gained 222 yards passing and 95 yards rushing for a total of 317 yards. RCHS rushed due 100 passing yards and negative 36 rushing yards for a total of 64 yards.
Individually, Malik Finley was 5 of 8 for 158 passing yards. Grady Bynum and Kaden Cooper caught two passes each for 68 and 60 yards, respectively.
Defensively, Octavious Gay led with 4 tackles and Jalen Parker had a total of six tackles, including 5 assists.
Opelika travels to Montgomery’s Crampton Bowl for a rare 11 a.m. kickoff against Robert E Lee.
The Generals are 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Region. Lee is coming off a loss to rival Jeff Davis by a score of 15-20 last week.
Lee lost the opener 26-19 to Daphne then reeled off three straight wins: 19-14 over JD, 25-10 over Eufaula and 21-0 over Sidney Lanier. Russell County forfeited to Lee, which is the 4th win.
Lee and Opelika are tied in the series with 11 wins and 11 loses for each team. The Generals’ last win over the Bulldogs occurred in the second round of the playoffs in 1999, 14-3.
OHS has won seven straight and last played Lee in 2013.
Fans should be able to purchase tickets on gofan.co. The Crampton Bowl is larger than most high school stadiums, which allows people to spread out and social distance. Masks are required.
You can listen to the game on 97.7 Kicker and online at kickerfm.com. You can also watch the live stream on the NFHS network at no charge, thanks to the Orthopaedic Clinic sponsoring the broadcast.