HS Football: The Woodlands escape, defeat Oak Ridge 20-14

CONROE, TX -- The Oak Ridge War Eagles were looking for their first-ever win over district rival The Woodlands Friday night, but there would be no rabbit and no hat. Coming into the night 0-15 all-time versus the Highlanders, Oak Ridge would cut the lead to 20-14 midway through the fourth quarter on a Dexter Green 103-yard interception return for a touchdown.

The score would bring Oak Ridge to within striking distance with one possession left but Highlanders senior quarterback Peyton Janecek would seal the game with a 3rd down scramble for a first down with a little over a minute to play.

It was an emotional night for both teams as Oak Ridge head coach Mark Schmid would be going up against his former team. Schmid previously coached at The Woodlands from 1987 to 2017 and was head coach from 2004 until he left to pursue interests outside of coaching.

Current Highlander coach Jim Rapp took over for Schmid in 2017 and has entered his 29th year of coaching at The Woodlands.

“It was a big win for us tonight,” said Rapp.

“We have some work to do at the quarterback spot but we’ll get it fixed for next week.”

The Highlanders take on cross-town rival College Park Friday night at Woodforest Stadium and will look to go 2-0 in district competition. The Cavaliers will look to beat The Woodlands for the first time since 2007.

The Highlanders are currently ranked #9 in the Houston-area media poll.