Our game of the week takes us to Chattanooga for The BlueCross Bowl 6A state championship game between The Oakland Patriots and The Beech Buccaneers. Both teams have winning cultures ingrained by long tenured and successful head coaches. Neither team will come in scared, and both will be expecting to win. You can hear both coaches’ opening statements for the 6A media availably below.
Oakland and Beech face off on Saturday at 7pm EST/6pm CT.
Oakland Patriots
MaxPreps Tennessee Rank: 4
Head Coach: Kevin Creasy (109-7 in seven years at Oakland)
2022 Record: 13-1
District Record: 5-0
2021 Record: 15-0, won state championship
All Time Playoff Record: 67-22
Oakland will be trying to accomplish something Saturday that has never been done in 6A football in Tennessee, three-peat the state title. The fact that they even have the opportunity to do so is impressive enough as it is, but if The Patriots play the way that they have played for most of this season and especially the playoffs, they have a real shot of making that a reality. The best word to describe this team is “Consistency.” Everything they do is consistent from the way they prepare to the way they play to the message they give reporters after their games they are consistent, and it starts at the top with Coach Creasy. Creasy will have to have them ready to go one more time against a Beech team that is more than capable of spoiling the shot at history.
Beech Buccaneers
MaxPreps Tennessee Rank: 7
Head Coach: Anthony Crabtree (168-57 in 18th season at Maryville)
2022 Record: 13-1
District Record: 5-0
2021 Record: 9-4, lost to Hendersonville in quarterfinals
All Time Playoff Record: 35-25
Beech has history on their side with no team ever being able to win three straight championships in 6A, but beyond that they’re also a really great team. Why leave it up to historical trends when you can go out there and win it yourself. Beech’s defense is giving up a little less than 14 points per game and if they keep that up, they could give Kade Hewitt and the stable of Oakland Runningbacks fits Saturday night on the way to a title.
Final Thoughts
This is one of those great matchups where if either team wins it wouldn’t be a surprise. Both teams have worked for months on end, made countless sacrifices to be here, and have a season to be proud of regardless of the final result. Everyone expected Oakland to be here which is not to say its not impressive that they are. Actually, it’s to the contrary. They lived up to expectations, which is not an easy thing to do. For Beech, I didn’t see anyone picking them to be in this game in the preseason. So does the storybook ending happen for Beech or is consistency king for Oakland?
For me, you can’t bet against a team that has shown that they know how to win and do so out of instinct. For that reason, I’m taking Oakland in an instant classic to be remembered for decades.
Oakland 41 Beech 38
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