editor@oakridgesports.com Oak Ridge may get a huge break Friday night. Make that a huge break and a huge player. Junior lineman Alex Stuart, injured two weeks ago against Dobyns-Bennett, may return a week earlier than expected against McMinn County. That’s the word from OR coach Stanton Stevens who said today that the final decision should come down Tuesday about Stuart’s status for the game in Athens against the Cherokees. “That would be a big lift,” said Stevens, whose Wildcats (4-1, 2-0) enter Friday’s road trip in a three-way tie atop the region with Ooltewah and Farragut. McMinn County probably faces a must-win situation if the Cherokees (2-3, 0-2) hope to eventually make the playoffs. After suffering a knee injury in Week 3 against the Indians, it was initially thought that Stuart might be lost for the season. But the 6-4, 285-pound standout has rebounded nicely from his MCL injury and is ahead of schedule. “Getting Alex back (early) would be huge,” said Stevens. “If he can play Friday we’d like to get a quarter out of him. The game next week against William Blount he’s gonna have to play four quarters.” Sans Stuart, Stevens said the Wildcats’ offense line has performed admirably the last couple of games. Senior Tyler Lane has really picked up the slack, according to the Wildcats’ head coach. “Tyler is finishing his blocks really well. He likes to get after it and get nasty. You see Tyler blocking downfield trying to spring our running backs.” Center Mike Mask has rebounded strong from a shaky start in the season opener against Clinton. “Mike plays extremely hard. Every ounce of physical ability he has he gets out. Mike is a very smart player.” Sophomore Tony Carson (6-3, 260) has improved by leaps and bounds, but is nowhere near to realizing his potential, according to Stevens. “He’s playing a lot better and starting to come into his own. Tony is not missing as many assignments as he was.” Gilbert Cruz and Matt Thompson have also been steady for the Wildcats. “Cruz has played solid while Matt has been a good backup for Stuart.” With Oak Ridge’s offensive line clearing the way for a pair of 100-yard games by Paul Bingham the last two weeks, things are definitely looking up according to Stevens. “Our running game is getting better. I think we’ve turned the corner. Getting (Stuart) back makes us that much stronger.” Cherokee nation: Coach Tony Daugherty’s team opened the season with a 50-14 blasting of Chattanooga Central. The next two weeks the Cherokees suffered a pair of identical 24-14 defeats at the hands of Ooltewah and Cleveland. That was followed up by a 34-18 Region 2 loss to Farragut. A week ago, McMinn County popped Rhea County 35-15. The Cherokees’ top player is senior running back Trace McDermott (6-0, 195). “Their running back is good,” said Stevens. “He reminds me a lot of Dustin Lindsey (former Alcoa player). He kind of runs with a straight-up style. He’s a potent runner.” If you don’t believe Stevens, just ask Rhea County. The Golden Eagles watched McDermott go for a career-high 237 yards on 34 carries last week. McDermott had 185 yards rushing by the half and two touchdowns as McMinn County pulled off the mild upset. McMinn County had high hopes entering the season. The Cherokees, with 23 seniors on hand, were looking to make the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Prior to that, MC had earned a trip to the playoffs 13 years in a row. |