Opp was on fire during the second quarter and scored three touchdowns en route to an impressive win for senior night, 33-14 in the match against Daleville at home on Friday night.
OHS Director of Coaching Matt Brunson was proud of his team’s performance in the important regional victory in the region.
“I think the defense performed exceptionally well in the beginning and we also got a blocked kick that turned the tide to our advantage. The offense picked up speed following that, but it was a fantastic defensive effort that contained Daleville’s quarterback, who is extremely athletic. Tonight was a huge victory for our team. We certainly needed it heading into the four-week stretch of regional play. Although it was a huge victory, and good news for the seniors in our team, we’ll have a lot to do the next time we visit Houston Academy,” Brunson added.
The Bobcats (3-4 3, 3-1 3A Regional 2) were three-and-out on their first possession during the match. Omarion Pinckney then hit Devan Bush for a 12 yard gain across the midfield. The drive ended up being stalled by the Warhawks (2-6 1-5) after a punt was blocked before being returned by the Dylan Reisnour. Jaymaryon Allen needed only one play to score a touchdown of one yard run. The kick was not successful and made the score at 6-0 with 5:51 left in the first quarter.
The home defense forced the first three-andout, as Opp started its next drive from its 37 yard line. Allen made a 3rd-and-7 conversion by running 18 yards towards the opposing 42. A couple of plays after, Colby Ballard called his own number by running an 18-yard slam towards the 21. Ballard also had an impressive 6-yard carry in the final play of the initial. After shifting the chains for an initial play, Ballard capped the nine-play drive, 63 yards long by running 9 yards for a touchdown. Allen scored the two-point conversion and took an 14-0 lead at 11:23 left in the first half. Grady Patterson recovered a fumble by Daleville following the kickoff.
Beginning at the 30, Allen moved the chains to the third down, this time with an 8-yard run. Ballard kept the drive going by running 3 yards on third-and-1, and Allen reached the end zone from just six yards away. The punt was unsuccessful but the score was pushed to 20-0 with 7:11 left in the second half. The Warhawks could not muster any yards during their next drive, and were forced to punt. Allen continued to be a force on the field with an impressive 25-yard run. The Bobcats played the dice on fourth down, and saw the payoff when Ballard caught Reed Adams for 10 yards. Damirian Thompson followed with the touchdown pass of 4 yards from Ballard. Saban Sasser kicked the ball in afterward for an advantage of 27-0. Landon Langley picked off a passing pass from Pinckney returning it for 36 yards in the final game of the half.
Daleville avoided a shutout by executing the 76-yard, 8-play initial drive in the second quarter. Pinckney scored two first-down runs of 20 and 17 yards, but a holding decision forced the ball to go back. After two more carries, Pinckney ran into the air and found Carrington Garland for an 44-yard touchdown. Pinckney was able to score the two-point conversion to cut the gap to 27-8 at 8:27 on the clock in the 3rd. Opp kept its foot on the ground strategy and took over the remainder of the clock for the rest of the quarter. Ballard played the chains 3 times and included two fourth-down conversions. Ballard also threw an eight-yard touchdown to Thompson on the opening game of the 4th quarter. The kick was not successful but the lead grew to 33-6 with 11:46 left to play.
The Warhawks started their game across midfield. On their next drive the Warhawks scored a touchdown that was called back because of the holding decision. On fourth-and-19, an incompletion pass was able to turn the ball over at the end of the downs. The Bobcats could not get a first down and were forced to punt. Mark Romero took a handoff across the middle on the very first game of the drive and ran 69 yards to the goal line. The attempt to score two points failed, which ended up with a score of 33-14 as the final score.
Ballard was a 3-of-7 passer for 26 yards. He also ran 23 times for the 81 yards and scored an interception. Allen had nine carries, which added 75 yards and scored. Thompson was rewarded with a pair of catches with 16 yards and both scoring touchdowns.
Jakelleus Lane was the star of the defensive effort, registering eight tackles and an bag. Nelson Hall followed with seven tackles and a Sack. Hank Messer and Landon Langley recorded three and four tackles, respectively.
Opp is heading across the state of Dothan to play for the 3rd time this season and plays Houston Academy (6-1, 4-1) in a different regional contest on Oct. 20.
The article Bobcats return to course with a 33-14 victory over Daleville was first published at The Andalusia Star-News.
