BY FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
A chance for redemption turned into a case of déjà vu on Saturday for Oakwood High School’s football team.
For the second year in a row, the Comets played at Pana in a Class 2A playoff game.
For the second year in a row, Pana dealt Oakwood a season-ending loss.
Oakwood fell behind 41-6 after three quarters and was eliminated from the Class 2A postseason playoffs on Saturday with a 47-20 second-round loss at Pana.
The loss ended the team’s three-game winning streak. Oakwood finishes with an 8-3 record.
Pana takes a 10-1 record into a quarterfinal game next Saturday at Nashville.
The outcome doesn’t reflect the early minutes of the game.
“Oakwood started the game how we wanted,” head coach Al Craig said. “We had an eight-minute drive, but unfortunately an interception ended the drive.”
Pana reached the end zone two plays later, and added a two-point conversion.
“We answered with another long drive, and Colby Smiley scored from 1 yard out,” Craig said.
The conversion try was unsuccessful, and the Panthers’ lead was 8-6 with 9 minutes, 9 seconds left in the third quarter.
Pana tacked on two touchdowns in less than a 2-minute stretch to pull away.
“The first drive was the turning point,” Craig said. “We drove 60 yards in eight minutes and ended with zero points. That is a killer for momentum.”
Smiley ended with 130 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns in his last prep game. Gaven Clouse had 110 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Rhett Harrison was 4 of 8 for 82 yards and one touchdown. Josh Young had 61 yards on one reception and scored a TD.
“We definitely had our opportunities,” Craig said. “Offensively, I’m very proud of what we have accomplished this year.
“I do believe our program turned a corner this year and hopefully that leads to continued success in years to come.”
Harrison finished the year with 1,064 passing yards, and 16 TDs.
Clouse eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in rushing, totaling 1,074 yards. Smiley ended the season with 934 yards on the ground. Both Clouse and Smiley had 10 rushing TDs. Clouse scored a team-high 88 points.
