Klein Collins big second half pushed Tigers past Oak Ridge War Eagles

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Oak Ridge High School came up short Friday night against Klein Collins High School with the final score concluding 37-16. The War Eagles look to make a redemption run after having two back to back losses against The Woodlands and Klein Collins but fell short. Oak Ridge played its first home game at Buddy Moorhead Stadium since 2007. Woodforest Bank Stadium was occupied by College Park High School and The Woodlands High School while Grand Oaks High School played at Woodforest stadium on Thursday night.

Klein Collins Tigers came into Friday nights game 3-0 and were looking to make a statement that they are a top tier team. The Tigers got off to a sluggish start, Oak Ridges defense held up in the first half, only allowing the Tigers offense to post six total points in the first half. The six points by Klien Collins came from running back Isaiah Spiller who took a 20-yard run into the end zone with 8 minutes left in the second quarter. For the War Eagles of Oak Ridge, they scored 10 points in the first half. Coming off an Adrian Murdaugh run that resulted in a 4-yard rushing touchdown, and a Mark Nelson 23 yard Field Goal to put the Oak Ridge War Eagles 10-6 heading into the break.

In the second half, Oak Ridge leaned on the running attack. Tigers Outside Linebacker Tyler Smith forced an early fumble giving Klein Collins all the momentum to push forward. With 8 minutes left in the quarter, Braylon Bridges and his Tiger offense pushed forward to the Tigers 20-yard line. With the offensive being in scoring position, Oak Ridge made stops to force Klein Collins to send out their units team. Klein Collins kicker Axel Zavala trotted out to the field and kicked a 20-yard field goal, making it a one-score game, and with the quarter winding down the War, Eagles were looking to make something out the last 6 minutes of the quarter.

Oak Ridge came out in the last 6 minutes, looking to push the pace, but couldn’t get anything going, resulting in a War Eagle punt. After receiving the punt, Tigers running back Isaiah Spiller and Braelon Bridges got to work, running down the clock and torching the War Eagle defense. Bridges found a seem on an inside handoff and powered into the end zone with a 10-yard touchdown run, giving Klein Collins heir first lead of the day at 16-10 with 4:51 in the third quarter. Being down for the first time of the game, Coach Rush tried new strategies to get his War Eagle offense forward, but after an injury on the attack, Klein Collins finessed the situation and forced another punt with an excellent defensive execution.

Senior quarterback Carter Rhyne looked to finish the game in the 3rd quarter. With pocket mobility Carter Rhyne started taking off, running forward and racking up yards. Three minutes left in the quarter and Tigers quarterback Carter Rhyne uncorked a 70-yard pass completed to wide receiver Josh Cordova for a touchdown pushing the Klein Collins lead to 23-10. The fourth quarter was the same as the third but with the three-punch combo of Bridges, Spiller, Rhyne and John Jmadison in full effect, the Tigers looked to run away with the game. Carter Rhyne began airing it out to receiver John Jmadison, and with significant gains Isaiah Spiller drove in another Klein Collins 15 yard Rushing touchdown, pushing the lead to 30-10. Game out of reach and time winding down in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge aired it out more than they had been with the game winding down, as Kavon Townsend became the primary target pushing the War Eagle offense to Tigers territory. Being at the 33-yard line of the Tigers Kavon Townsend decided to take the ball himself. Rushing forward for 35 yards Townsend found the end zone making the score 30-16 after an Oak Ridge missed PAT.

Following the Townsend touchdown, Klein Collins sent out their backups to finish the game with 6 minutes to go. Backup running back Tre'veon Petty chewed the clock down to under 6 minutes before punching in a 25-yard run, finalizing the game 37-16 Klein Collins Tigers.

War Eagles and Dereck Rush are currently sitting at 1-3 and are looking to make corrections heading into next weeks game against Klein Forest. With last week’s blowout from The Woodlands High School and the tough second half loss to Klien Collins, Oak Ridge War Eagles look to take on 1-2 Klein Forest Golden Eagles, September 28th at Klein Forest Stadium.