Atascocita blitzes Oak Ridge in second half

HUMBLE, Texas – For the first 23 minutes, it looked like the Oak Ridge War Eagles had enough speed to stay with the cat-quick Atascocita Eagles.

Then the dam broke.

The Eagles, who gave The Woodlands Highlanders all they wanted before falling 24-14 last week, went 63 yards in the final 30 seconds of the first half to grab a 7-3 lead at intermission.

From there, it was all Atascocita as the area’s seventh-ranked Eagles scored 42 points in the second half and coasted to a 49-27 victory over Oak Ridge on Friday night at Turner Stadium.

The win moved Atascocita to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in District 16-6A, while Oak Ridge fell to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.

What was billed as an offensive shootout from the word go turned into a defensive battle for the first 29 minutes as both teams forced turnovers and came up with big stops on third down.

Oak Ridge, in fact, grabbed a 3-0 lead on Omar Barrionetoes’ 24-yard field goal with 10:21 left in the first half, and looked like it might grab a 6-0 lead when Barrionetoes lined up for a 48-yard field goal with 36 ticks left in the first half.

But the field goal sailed wide left, giving Atascocita the ball at its own 37. Quarterback Niyl Campbell scored on a 38-yard run three plays later to give the Eagles a 7-3 halftime lead.

Campbell, who could be the best all-around quarterback in the district, hit blue-chip wide receiver Quan Shorts with an 18-yard scoring toss to up the lead to 14-3 with 7:57 left in the third.

But the War Eagles were not done as Kwame Etwi, who is among the league’s rushing leaders, went untouched up the middle for a 75-yard scoring play to slice the lead to 14-10 with 7:26 left in the third period.

Campbell, however, was not to be outdone on this night as he hit Tre Hamilton with a 9-yard touchdown, scored on a 1-yard run and hit Shorts with another 49-yard scoring play as Atascocita pulled away in final 15 minutes.

Campbell rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 123 yards and three scores on the night.

Etwi, who added a 44-yard touchdown run, finished the game with 170 yards rushing and two scores, while Braden Letney completed 14-of- 29 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown. He also suffered two costly interceptions.

Patrick Taylor Jr. also rushed for 107 yards and Deneric Gibson scored on a 17-yard run for the Eagles.

Oak Ridge finished the game with 351 total yards, while Atascocita had 390. Both teams had two turnovers.

Oak Ridge will try and bounce back when it takes on College Park at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Woodforest Bank Stadium.