Impressive opener
- Updated: August 20, 2022
Saks floods the field with offense, overwhelms Ohatchee in the season opener for both teams
By Mark Everett Kelly
For East Alabama Sports Today
As scattered rain covered the field at Saks Friday night, the home team drowned visiting Ohatchee with a tidal offense wave in a 41-15 rout.
OHATCHEE 15
The Wildcats’ running game dominated an overmatched Ohatchee defense, as 386 of their 424 total yards came on the ground. Junior quarterback Gavin Doss ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, accounting for 222 yards. He rushed for 186 yards on 13 carries and completed 2 of 4 passes for 36 yards.
Doss backfield mates, junior Dorrien Walker and senior #3 Jakari Streeter also joined in the offensive fun. Walker rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries and Streeter had 54 yards rushing on three carries.
“I thought our offensive line, led by our two seniors, Ra’Mond Pearson and J.J. Waters, really stood out all night,” Saks coach Jonathan Miller said.
Saks’ defense struggled early against the Indians pair of seniors Bryce Noah and Tyler Waters). After allowing a touchdown on Ohatchee’s initial offensive possession, Saks stopped the Indians’ second drive on fourth-and-3 at the 15.
And after surrendering more than 120 yards of offense on their first two possessions, the Wildcats held the Indians to just 99 yards on their next six, as quarterback Noah and Waters left the game with injuries.
Noah had 45 yards rushing on nine carries and threw for 84 yards, and Waters rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown.
The turning point came late in the first half. With his team leading 14-7, Wildcats’ senior Ra’Mond Pearson vaulted into the Ohatchee backfield stopping sophomore Nathan Jones for a 2-yard loss at the 16. Despite the clock showing 19 seconds remaining in the first half, Saks did not run the clock out. Doss used a fantastic play option fake to freeze defenders and gallop 84 yards for a 21-7 halftime lead.
After winning four of their previous five matchups, Ohatchee lost for the second straight year against Saks.
With the win, Miller tied Ohatchee’s Ragan Clark for fourth place among coaches in Calhoun County with the most wins at their school (94).
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