October 17, 2009

Rod Johnson
Rivals High Senior Editor

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.

Scoring Summary

Game Keys

1. Explosiveness

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.

2. Phillip Sims to Charlie Ricks

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.

3. Defensive Power

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.

**Postgame Audio with Oscar Smith Head Coach Rich Morgan**

Top Prospect, Top Player

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.

Weapon Diversity

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. 

Proving Himself

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.