War Eagles on display in Red-White game

SHENANDOAH, Texas – The Oak Ridge War Eagles showed a few hundred fans that they have quite a few athletes during Tuesday night’s Red vs. White spring football game at Woodforest Bank Stadium.

One of the best athletes is quarterback/wide receiver Riley McKnight, who ran for a 70-yard touchdown and threw a 70-yard touchdown pass during the contest.

“This was a blast,’’ said McKnight, who is playing quarterback for the first time in his high school career.

Which was more fun, the touchdown pass or the touchdown run?

“Oh, definitely the run,’’ said McKnight with a million-dollar smile.

The game had a unique set of rules in that the offensive (White) team scored six points for a touchdown and one for an extra-point, while the defensive (Red) team scored two points for holding the White team without a first down on a series or three points for forcing turnovers or holding the offense on a fourth-down attempt.

The Red team, behind some outstanding plays from Treon Hill, Nick Durst, Imari Burkes and Lane Tucker, and a sack from Victor Alvarez, won the game 34-20. But this game was all about playing for starting spots in the fall.

Quarterback Braden Letney, who was able to compete in spring drills after breaking his ankle during the ninth week of the 2013 season, played only one series on Tuesday night.

“I don’t know what the deal was there,’’ McKnight said. “But Braden has been going like gangbusters in (spring) practice.’’

Alex St. Louis took a simple hitch pass from McKnight and sprinted 70 yards down the sideline for a touchdown to give the White team a commanding 20-2 lead at one point in the contest.

Quarterback Caleb Clark also hit Lamar Handy with a short screen pass and Handy raced 54 yards untouched on the second series of the game.

Kwame Etwi, Dustin Raiola and Jimmie Moore had some tough runs, while Kyle Townsend showed his strength after a short catch.

But the defense dominated the final two thirds of the contest as it held the White team without a first down on 15 different possessions.

The game matched the first string offense against the second string defense, the first-team defense against the second string offense and the No. 3 offensive and defensive units against one another.

Omar Barrientos kicked a pair of extra-points and handled the kickoff and punting duties, though there was no blocking or tackling on special teams plays.

Oak Ridge, which went 7-4 a year ago under head coach Dereck Rush, will open the season against Morton Ranch on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Woodforest Stadium.

“I think I would like to play quarterback over receiver,’’ McKnight said. “But I really don’t know for sure. This is my first year to play quarterback.’’