Grand Oaks Claims Victory Over Oak Ridge In The Battle Of The Oaks

THE WOODLANDS – Rivalries are always fun and can lead to some of the best games of the season. Grand Oaks and Oak Ridge faced off at Woodforest Bank Stadium on Thursday in a crucial game for either team trying to make the postseason. What started as a back-and-forth battle quickly turned into a blowout as Grand Oaks pulled off an impressive win over their rival. With this victory, Grand Oaks appears ready to make the postseason for the first time since being founded in 2018.

Oak Ridge vs. Grand Oaks: Battle of the Oaks

The Thursday night matchup saw Oak Ridge travel to play Grand Oaks in a relatively new rivalry that has quickly become a fun game to watch each year. Grand Oaks was established to reduce the number of students attending Oak Ridge, so the schools are linked much like The Woodlands and College Park. This game carried some postseason implications, as a win would likely secure Grand Oaks the 4th spot in the district. The Grizzlies started strong, scoring on their first drive when QB Grant Smith connected with TE Paxton McCutchen on a nice pass to put them up 7-0. Just before the end of the first quarter, Oak Ridge QB Drayton Urbay made a nice run to put Oak Ridge in scoring position. RB Ethan Pruitt then began the second quarter with back-to-back great runs, leading Urbay to dive into the end zone for the touchdown, tying the game at 7-7. Grand Oaks responded quickly, driving down the field with their RB duo of Keilan Gause and Brian Victorian Jr., reaching the red zone. Victorian Jr. then had a setback as he fumbled at the 1-yard line, recovered by Oak Ridge. That drive resulted in nothing for the War Eagles, and a poor punt gave Grand Oaks excellent field position. Kaden Rosado then nailed a field goal, giving Grand Oaks the lead back at 10-7. Just before halftime, Grand Oaks got the ball again, where Rosado scored another field goal to make it 13-7. The second half started with a bang as Urbay connected with WR James Scott for a huge gain into Grand Oaks territory. Urbay then hurdled a defender for extra yards, followed by a quick dump pass to score, giving Oak Ridge a 14-13 lead. Gause didn’t take that lightly; when he got the ball on the next drive, he took it to the house on a 50-yard touchdown run to regain the lead at 20-14. Urbay then led another strong drive, with Scott making some great catches. However, Urbay struggled and was eventually intercepted by Jensen Solares, who was then forced out of the game with an injury. Grand Oaks took advantage of the turnover, driving downfield as Smith hit WR Preston Cloud, who made an incredible catch to enter the red zone. Gause then took over again, scoring his second touchdown of the night on a 21-yard run to give Grand Oaks a 27-14 lead. Scott replaced the injured Urbay at quarterback and immediately showed he can be a threat with his arm, completing a 42-yard pass to James Skaer to end the quarter. Scott then converted a fourth down to reach the red zone, putting pressure on Grand Oaks. After a Pruitt run to the 3-yard line, Scott was intercepted on the same dump pass, ending the drive. Grand Oaks maintained control; Smith had a nice run to the Oak Ridge 37-yard line. Gause then scored his third touchdown of the night on a 25-yard run, making the score 34-14 in favor of Grand Oaks. Oak Ridge tried to get back down the field with Scott at QB, but they were ultimately stopped, allowing Grand Oaks to regain possession and run out the clock. Grand Oaks left with an impressive 34-14 victory, giving them a strong shot at the postseason as they have now beaten the only two other teams competing for that spot.

Final Thoughts:

It looked like it was going to be a tough battle from the start as both teams appeared capable of scoring and the defense was holding up well. However, Grand Oaks proved to be the superior team, with Keilan Gause once again shining, rushing for his seventh 100-yard game and adding three scores to bring his touchdown total to 13 for the year. Oak Ridge looked promising in the first half but fell apart down the stretch, especially after losing Urbay, which really hurt them. James Scott was impressive, stepping up for the War Eagles when they needed him and making some big plays at both wide receiver and quarterback. Overall, this was a fun game to watch. Grand Oaks has come a long way since being founded in 2018 and should be an interesting team to watch in the future.