Oakland Advances After Dominating Road Win

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Patriots came to Mt. Juliet on Friday night and established themselves early as the aggressor then proceeded to take the Golden Bears to the woodshed in the road teams, 24-2 second round victory. </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Traveling up from the Boro to take on a Mt. Juliet team that had an impressive first round win, Oakland looked like they didn't care who they played as they were laser focused on the task at hand as the Patriots dominated, beating the Golden Bears 24-2 to advance to the Class 6A Quarterfinals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The home crowd was excited and it appeared the Golden Bears team was as well but once we kicked the game off and the Patriots defense made first contact, I knew we were in store for a physical beatdown.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From the 1st play of the game till the final whistle, Oakland made their presence felt with their physicality, especially in the line of scrimmage where guys like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='149386' first='Tre' last='Johnson']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119992' first='Jeremiah' last='Buntyn']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='480658' first='Aviery' last='Haynesworth'] </strong>and others manhandled the Golden Bears offensive line, constantly getting into the backfield and putting pressure on junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219402' first='Tyler' last='Travers'].</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Travers is viewed as a top 10 in-state signal caller for the junior class but the Patriots defense made him look pedestrian on Friday night as the junior passer had no time to let anything develop down field while also taking several big hits throughout the night.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He also struggled to see the field but a lot of that was due to the Oakland defensive front seven causing havoc all night. Travers and his Golden Bears team was lucky to be down only 10-0 at halftime but that score wasn't indicative of how much the Patriots were dominating this game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1084971,"width":"502px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/20231110_185745.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1084971" style="width:502px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Much of the same story continued in the 2nd half for Oakland as they leaned on their potent rushing attack of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219387' first='Daune' last='Morris'] </strong>and senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='186297' first='Ashton' last='Jones'] </strong>while their defense continued to suffocate the Golden Bears offense.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a full team attack from Oakland throughout the entire game that Mt. Juliet just had no answers for. Offensively and defensively, the Patriots line dominated both sides of the ball, which sprung open the run game and controlled the contest during the second half while the defensive front smothered the Golden Bears rushing attack, forcing them to throw the ball in difficult situations.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The back half of the game was simply about keeping players healthy as everybody knew the Patriots were advancing. Mt. Juliet had a good year and developed several youthful players that should help the Golden Bears repeat as region champs next but Friday night was all about Oakland and their dominance.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looking into the Quarterfinals, Oakland gets a shot at revenge as they remain on the road next week, taking on rival Riverdale. The Warriors defeated Oakland in their previous matchup just a few weeks ago, 25-24 on a tipped pass reception in the end zone, so I'm sure the Patriots are eager to get back on the field against their cross town region foe.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wrapping up Friday night's victory over Mt. Juliet, it was another reminder that under head coach <strong>Kevin Creasy</strong>, the Patriots are always dangerous during playoff season and a team in contention to win anytime they step on the field and if they continue to play like they are now, another Class 6A state title could be in play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1084972,"width":"598px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/11/20231110_191111.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1084972" style="width:598px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player of the Game</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["149386"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400u0022u003eMt. Juliet had a problem with this guy on Friday evening as they had no answers for Johnson as he consistently played in the Golden Bears backfield, producing several punishing hits and big plays on defense. Johnson was a dude possessed as he was near unblockable with a motor that couldn't be slowed down. Looking into the college level, Johnson fits the role for middle linebacker as someone who plays well versus the run along with the ability to rush the backfield when called upon. He is also a hard nosed competitor that loves football and competition, which showed up big against the Golden Bears.u003c/spanu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-654fbceccd444"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Top Performers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>‘25 (RB) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219387' first='Daune' last='Morris'] </strong>- Oakland: Fast and difficult to bring down, the Golden Bears had a hard time with Morris anytime he touched the ball. He produced touchdowns yes but it was his ability to break tackles and keep moving forward that impressed me the most about his potential on the next level.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(TE) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='323146' first='Brady' last='Jones'] </strong>- Mt. Juliet: There weren't too many positive moments on offense for Mt. Juliet but Jones was the one guy who had several good moments, including multiple catches to keep drives alive.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1035038,"width":"269px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/10/brjones.jpg?w=400" alt="" class="wp-image-1035038" style="width:269px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(DE/LB) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119992' first='Jeremiah' last='Buntyn'] </strong>- Oakland: If it wasn't for the play of Johnson, this senior edge defender would be our player of the game. Buntyn had an outstanding evening setting the edge for his Patriots defense, constantly making plays in the Golden Bears backfield.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(DL) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='362884' first='Jack' last='O'Daffer'] </strong>- Mt. Juliet: O'Daffer did everything he could on Friday night to provide strong play vs. run while also rushing the backfield against a very good Oakland offensive line that didn't budge too often.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>‘25 (OT/G) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='466284' first='Kaden' last='Mowl'] </strong>- Oakland: A massive young man with tremendous size/girth, Mowl manhandled Golden Bears in Round Two, opening up several holes for his running backs while also providing a wall to pass rushers after the quarterback.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->