The weather mirrored the game on Friday night for the Oscar Smith Tigers as

early rain became a clear, crisp Fall night late in the first half matching the

27-point second quarter explosion by the state's top-ranked team which led to a

34-7 halftime advantage leading to a 48-13 victory, the Tigers' seventh win of

the season.

After driving to the Lakeland 21 and failing to score on their first series,

Oscar Smith found the end zone on their next four offensive possessions and one

of Lakeland's in the first half as Phillip Sims connected on three touchdown

passes, two to Charlie Ricks who also returned an interception for a score, and

one to Quinta Funderburke just 22 seconds before halftime.

All five of the first half scores were or were set up by big plays...

#1 came after a 40-yard run

by J.C. Coleman to the Lakeland 9-yard line.

#2 was a 33-yard fade from

Phillip Sims to Charlie Ricks.

#3 was set up by a 55-yard

pass from Sims to Ricks to the Lakeland 5-yard line.

#4 was a 30-yard

interception return by Ricks.

#5 was set up by a 22-yard

reverse followed by a 30-yard pass from Sims to Brandon Davis into the Lakeland

red zone.

 

 

Clearly, the All-American

quarterback, who spreads the ball well to all of his receivers, has found

somewhat of a go-to guy in Ricks who is making the most of every touch he gets

by turning in yards-after-catch plays almost every time the ball comes his way. 

On the night, Ricks intercepted three passes from the defensive side of the

ball, returned one for a score, snared two touchdown passes and set up two other

scores by taking other receptions into the Lakeland red zone.  The two

hooked up five times for 93 yards on the night.

 

 

With all of the attention drawn by

Sims and the Smith offense, the Tigers defense is quietly putting together one

of the best seasons in the state having allowed only 42 points in seven contests

while going four weeks without allowing a touchdown.  Senior defensive

linemen Evan Hailes and Corey Stewart anchor a unit shutting down opponents'

running games up front.  Middle linebacker Jeremy Magette has transformed

himself physically since transferring in from Bayside as he's shed thirty pounds

and has become a sleek, key playmaking tackler for the unit.  A secondary

which struggled some against nationally-ranked quarterback Trey Burton from

Venice now appears to be priming for a deep postseason run as evidenced by their

three interceptions in this game.

 

 

 

Oscar Smith quarterback

Phillip Sims, an Alabama commit, is the state's top-ranked prospect from the

Class of 2010 by VirginiaPreps.com and each time that he takes the field, he

seemingly lives up to that reputation by producing eye-popping numbers. 

Given the weather conditions before the game, the expectation might have been

that the Tigers potent air attack would be somewhat grounded by precipitation

but Sims but those notions to rest pretty quickly by tossing three touchdowns in

the first half and four on the night in completing 12 of 22 passes for 231

yards.

 

Sims' arm strength and

ability to spin a bal virtually removes the weather as a factor as his passes

sliced through both the wind and rain.  Though he was victimized by some

drops early, the senior's numbers were as outstanding as ever and his ability to

find open guys against the variety of coverages thrown at him makes him the

remarkable talent that he is.

 

 

With the loss of

all-state wide receiver Tim Smith (Virginia) from last year's state championship

team, questions arose about how effective the Tigers offense would be throwing

the ball this season as, for the first time in his high school career, Sims did

not have an established DI prospect as his go-to guy out wide. 

 

The answer for Sims has

been to spread the wealth throughout the roster as was demonstrated in this

contest where four different receivers caught significant passes led by Ricks. 

Additional support came from targets Quinta Funderburke and Marquie Mays who

each caught touchdown passes and Brandon Davis, a key contributor last season

who has returned to full strength after breaking an ankle over the summer. 

On the ground, J.C. Coleman has proved to be a valuable addition by carrying 12

times for 86 yards and a score and backup Jaston George got some late time and

scored a touchdown of his own. 

 

 

Holding a couple of DI

scholarship offers already, Lakeland running back Cedric Johnson has already

proven himself a more-than-capable playmaker on the high school level and,

expected to be the focal point of the Cavaliers offense against one of the

state's best defenses in this game, all eyes were on the senior running back

tonight.  He did not disappoint.  The 6-foot-0, 190-pounder carried

the ball 20 times for 87 yards and scored the first touchdown in the last five

games against the Tigers.  Running out of the I-, spread- and

wildcat-formations, Johnson showed the athleticism that will make him a valuable

commodity on a college rosters next season.