Road to the state championship: Oscar Smith shook off a loss to national power, then dominated the 757

The Oscar Smith football team is trying to make history this weekend.

The Tigers are attempting to become one of the few – possibly only – VHSL football team to win two state titles in one calendar year. After winning the Class 6 state title during the spring, Oscar Smith will face James Madison of Vienna for the Class 6 championship at noon on Saturday at Old Dominion’s S.B. Ballard Stadium.

Here’s the road the Tigers traveled to get to the finals:

Aug. 27

Oscar Smith 49, Deep Creek 3

Oscar Smith quarterback Ethan Vasko, left, evades Deep Creek defenders Archie Hill, center, and Alec Young during a game earlier this season. Mike Caudill/Freelance (Mike Caudill / The Virginian-Pilot)

Kevon King scored three touchdowns s No. 1 Oscar Smith, the defending Class 6 state champion, rolled over No. 6 Deep Creek.

Quarterback Ethan Vasko certainly was locked in. The Old Dominion commit completed 11 of 14 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns, to Amonte Jones and Xavier Lewis. Vasko also ran for 97 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

Sept. 10

Oscar Smith 57, Grassfield 0

King ran for 224 yards and five touchdowns on 19 carries to power the top-ranked Oscar Smith to a win over the host Grassfield.

Jason Woodard also had a big night for Oscar Smith, rushing for 94 yards and two touchdowns on six carries, while quarterback Vasko finished with 75 yards on nine rushes.

Oscar Smith’s defense, which scored a safety to put the team up 15-0 heading into halftime, was just as dominant, holding Grassfield to just 1 yard of total offense. The Tigers smothered the Grizzlies’ run game, holding them to minus-35 yards on 25 attempts.

Sept. 17

St. John Bosco (Calif.) 49, Oscar Smith 0

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St. John Bosco's Peyton Woodyard, left, gives a stiff arm to Oscar Smith's Erick Griffin during Friday evening's game September 17, 2021. (Jonathon Gruenke/Daily Press)

Oscar Smith is used to doling out shutouts.

But for the first time since 2002, the Tigers were the ones who got shut out.

Nationally ranked St. John Bosco of California handed the Tigers a loss in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 7,000 fans at Beard-DeLong-Easley Stadium. The Braves (5-0) came into the game ranked No. 2 in the SBLive Power 25 and No. 3 by MaxPreps and USA Today.

Despite the blowout, Oscar Smith coach Chris Scott was able to take away some positives.

“The thing I love is our guys kept fighting, no matter what,” he said. “That’s the thing that’s tough to do when you’re getting beat like that. They made us play every play, which I love. It doesn’t feel good, but we’ll get better by it.”

Sept. 24

Oscar Smith 57, Hickory 0

Vasko threw for three touchdowns and King ran for three scores as the Tigers defeated the visiting Hawks.

Michael Cherry, Olympic Gold Medalist, returned home for tonight’s game starting with a meet and greet, leading our team onto the field and performing the coin toss. #smithset #onceatigeralwaysatiger pic.twitter.com/TbAtpJFLUd
— Oscar F Smith High School (@OscarSmithHigh) September 24, 2021

Olympic track gold medalist and Oscar Smith alum Michael Cherry was at the game, doing the coin toss before helping to lead the Tigers onto the field.

Oct. 1

Oscar Smith 42, Indian River 0

Kelvon Bethea blows past the tackle and gets the big sack! pic.twitter.com/rngMKbZexP
— Ray Nimmo (@Ray_Nimmo) October 2, 2021

All Kelvon Bethea needed was a cape.

With four sacks, a blocked punt and the recovery, the Oscar Smith defensive end terrorized Indian River’s backfield.

“You have guys that just decided to activate superhero mode like Bethea,” Scott said. “I don’t know how many sacks he had today, but it almost broke the record I would assume for the season, it felt like. He had a great game. I’m super-proud of him.”

Top-ranked Oscar Smith (4-1) held No. 10 Indian River (2-1) to just 65 total yards in a win at Oscar Smith for the Tigers’ third shutout this season.

Oct. 15

Oscar Smith 49, King’s Fork 7

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Several Oscar Smith defenders pile onto Kings Fork's Ayden Lewis (10) during a high school football game in Chesapeake, Va. on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. Oscar Smith defeated Kings Fork, 49-7, (Trent Sprague/The Virginian-Pilot)

For nearly two quarters, King’s Fork gave top-ranked Oscar Smith all it could handle, including taking an early seven-point lead.

But the Tigers responded with 49 unanswered points to hand King’s Fork its first loss of the season with a victory.

“I think we just had to start playing together,” said Vasko, who completed 8 of 12 passes for 179 yards. “I think by the third possession, we started playing Smith football again.”

Oct. 22

Oscar Smith 51, Nansemond River 13

Vasko was in control as the top-ranked Tigers defeated Nansemond River 51-13.

Vasko threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, but more important was the way he ran the offense.

“He set the tempo tonight, leading us to scores in four of our first five series,” Oscar Smith coach Chris Scott said. “He started fast in the second half with a touchdown to Jamauri Knox.

“He set the tone for us tonight to be aggressive and was very consistent.”

Oct. 29

Oscar Smith 48, Western Branch 0

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The Oscar Smith team comes out of the Tiger cage before the stat go their game against Western Branch at Oscar Smith high school on Friday, October 29, 2021 in Chesapeake, Va. (Mike Caudill/The Virginian-Pilot)

Oscar Smith defensive lineman Caleb Jones is used to doing the chasing. But on this night, he found himself in an unfamiliar position.

With the top-ranked Tigers leading by two touchdowns, Jones scooped up a loose ball and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown.

The score helped the host Tigers beat No. 9 Western Branch, but more importantly clinch another Southeastern District title. The Tigers have won or shared of 16 of the past 17 championships.

“It feels great,” Jones said about the title. “We usually get it every year, so we’re chasing it every time. After this, the goal is to go get another state ring.”

Nov. 5

Oscar Smith 42, Phoebus 0

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Oscar Smith's Saquan Adams sacks Phoebus' Emerson Hurd during the fourth quarter of Friday night's game in Chesapeake. (Trent Sprague/The Virginian-Pilot)

A crowd of more than 4,000 showed up at Beard-DeLong-Easley Field to see No. 1 Oscar Smith host No. 2 Phoebus in one of the most anticipated regular-season showdowns in recent memory between two of the most prolific football programs in the state.

And on this night, it was all Oscar Smith.

“It was a big game because they were No. 2 in the 757 and we were No. 1,” said Oscar Smith senior and Clemson commit Sherrod Covil, who rushed for two touchdowns. “And they came thinking they were about to run through us at our crib. No, we’re not going (out) like that.”

Chris Scott said this was the perfect game to get his team ready for another state title run.

“Iron sharpens iron. (Phoebus) guys made us better all week. Hopefully, we made them better all week,” he said. “And now we want the 757 to go be the most dominant teams in the state. I wish them the best and I hope they go win it. And now it’s time for us to make our run.”

Nov. 11

Class 6 Region A quarterfinal: Oscar Smith 77, Cosby 7

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Oscar Smith's Traveon Brown (25) cheers as Oscar Smith's Collins Redd (41) rushes 22-yards for a third quarter defensive touchdown against Cosby, at the VHSL Class 6A football quarterfinal at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Va. on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Oscar Smith defeated Cosby, 77-7. (Trent Sprague/The Virginian-Pilot)

What a night for Vasko. The Old Dominion commit set a VHSL record for total touchdowns as he threw for nine touchdowns and rushed for another to lead Oscar Smith to a victory over Cosby High of Midlothian in a Class 6 Region A quarterfinal.

Vasko completed 14 of 18 passes for 294 yards and tied the state record with nine touchdown passes. Jim Hogan of Newport News High threw nine touchdown passes in 1966.

But Vasko’s 25-yard touchdown run gave him 10 total touchdowns, which broke a record that was shared by four players. The Tigers’ 77 points also set a school record, breaking the old mark of 76 set in 2019.

Nov. 19

Class 6 Region A semifinal: Oscar Smith 50, James River 0

Amonte Jones and Kevon King each scored two touchdowns in the first half as Oscar Smith turned in another dominating performance in a 50-0 home victory over James River in a Class 6 Region A semifinal.

The Tigers (10-1) led 50-0 at halftime and have outscored two Chesterfield County opponents 127-7 in their first two postseason games.

Jones hauled in touchdown passes of 18 and 34 yards from Ethan Vasko, and King rushed for two scores. Vasko added a touchdown run of his own, and Jamauri Knox scored on a 55-yard run.

Nov. 26

Class 6 Region A final: Oscar Smith 58, Western Branch 6

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The Oscar Smith football team is introduced before the start of the Class 6 Region A championship game against Western Branch at Oscar Smith high school on Friday, November 26, 2021 in Chesapeake, Va. (Mike Caudill/The Virginian-Pilot)

King had no doubt the Tigers would beat Western Branch in the Class 6 Region A title game Friday.

He wasn’t being cocky, but he knew the Tigers have a bigger goal than just winning a region title.

“We already knew we could beat them,” he said. “We just stayed locked in and didn’t feed into the crowd or anything like that, and just played our game. If we play our game, you can’t beat us.”

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King accounted for three touchdowns — two on runs and another on a pass — as he helped lead the Tigers to a win over the Bruins.

Dec. 4

VHSL Class 6 state semifinal: Oscar Smith 49, Battlefield 10

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Oscar Smith celebrates after defeating Battlefield in the VHSL Class 6 football semifinal at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Oscar Smith defeated Battlefield, 49-10 and advance to the VHSL Class 6 championship. (Trent Sprague/The Virginian-Pilot)

The Tigers had six scoring drives of four or fewer plays and dominated the Bobcats in a Class 6 state semifinal.

“It feels great,” said Vasko, who completed 8 of 11 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns. “Everyone came out, we knew what we wanted to do — make it to another state championship — and that’s what we did.”

Averaging 41 yards per completion, Vasko consistently found wide-open targets down the field to torch the Bobcats (13-1) of Haymarket.

– Compiled by Greg Giesen