HENRICO — The Oscar Smith football team’s interminable offseason finally came to an end on Friday night in a regular-season opener against Hermitage.
The No. 3 Tigers eagerly took the first steps toward erasing the haunting memory of the program’s worst season in nearly 20 years with a 39-25 victory over the Panthers near Richmond.
Oscar Smith appeared overly eager at times — committing penalties totaling 111 yards, giving up some big-play bursts and failing to convert 4 of 6 PATs. But the Tigers led from start to finish, shook off the rust and began to shake the memory of a loss to Western Branch in the Class 6 Region A semifinals on Nov. 18, 2022.
“We remember the date, we remember how it felt,” running back Isaac Huffman said. “We kept that with us, and this year we’re coming back for it all.”
Huffman finished with 96 of Oscar Smith’s 170 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns, while quarterback Jamar Wright completed 10 of 18 passes for 165 yards and a score.
Huffman took the bulk of the carries after starter Brandon Nesbit — playing in his first game after transferring from Deep Creek — left with an apparent right-ankle injury midway through the second quarter. Nesbit gained 69 yards on eight carries and scored a touchdown.
“I just knew we had to keep up the same energy, no falloff,” Huffman said. “Keep pushing and finish the game. The rest of the team had to keep our heads up and play for him.”
Oscar Smith’s defense forced three-and-outs on Hermitage’s first three possessions, and Nesbit scored on a 14-yard run to put the Tigers in front 7-0 in the first quarter. Na’Rod Jarvis then scooped up a blocked field-goal attempt and raced 80 yards for a score and a 12-0 lead with 3:29 left in the first quarter.
Hermitage — coming off a 6-5 season — pulled within a touchdown several times, but never took the lead. Oscar Smith led 24-19 at halftime
Wright threw a 33-yard TD pass to Alvin Jones, and Huffman scored on TD runs of 9, 1 and 6 yards. Huffman’s 6-yarder came with 8:10 left in the fourth quarter and gave Oscar Smith its biggest lead at 39-19.
Oscar Smith looked dominant at times on defense, but also gave up some big plays, including Yeanay’s 58-yard TD run and a 20-yard TD run by Earlonte Winston. Yeanay (six carries, 105 yards) and Winston (20 carries, 144 yards) helped the Panthers finished with 288 rushing yards, .
Most important, though, was getting back on the field and gaining experience for a Tigers team that starts only four seniors (two on offense, two on defense). A much larger test looms next week against Phoebus, which trounced Oscar Smith 56-0 last year during the regular season and then won a second consecutive state title.
The Tigers won back-to-back state championships of their own before last year’s disappointing finish.
“We needed that loss, we needed it,” said Oscar Smith assistant coach Lafonte Thourogood, who fielded postgame interviews as head coach Chris Scott deferred. “Going back-to-back and winning state titles, some of the younger guys and the older guys we get kind of complacent and think people are going to lay down because we’re so dominant.”
