Oak Grove continues dominance, downing Haynesville for fourth title in five years

NEW ORLEANS – The second verse was a virtual repeat of the first verse.

Third-seeded Oak Grove dominated from start to finish in a 62-36 victory over fourth-seeded Haynesville in the Non-Select Division I state championship game Thursday evening at the Caesars Superdome.

It is the fourth state championship in five seasons for Oak Grove and it was the third straight one-sided win over its north Louisiana rival.

Oak Grove hammered Haynesville 61-27 at home in the regular season on Oct. 6. The Tigers also drilled the Golden Tornado 48-7 in the 2022 semifinals.

Quarterback Jackson Bradley, a Louisiana Tech commit, and running back Jay Freeman each rushed for three touchdowns as the Tigers punished the Golden Tornado with 401 yards rushing. Bradley rushed 23 times for 211 yards, earning Most Outstanding Player honors while Freeman had 23 carries for 173 yards.

The Tigers also took advantage of three turnovers by Haynesville.

Oak Grove got a good kickoff return to start the game and took advantage of excellent field position, driving 47 yards in five plays with quarterback Jackson Bradley scoring on a 29-yard run to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

Haynesville answered and it looked like it could be a good game as the Golden Tornado drove 80 yards in five plays with Isiah Washington connecting with JerMarquis Hampton on a 53-yard touchdown pass and it was 7-7 with 7:34 to play in the first quarter.

The optimism for Haynesville was short-lived.

Oak Grove ripped off the next 34 points to break the game open.

Termarques Pritchard returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead.

Spencer Foster then forced and recovered a fumble by Alonzo Jackson at the Haynesville 39-yard line.

That led to a 6-yard touchdown run by Jay Freeman and it was 21-7 with 3:01 to play in the first quarter.

After getting a stop, Bradley raced 69 yards for a score on the first play of the next Oak Grove possession to make it 28-7 with 53 seconds to play in the first quarter.

The Tigers drove 54 yards in nine plays with Freeman scoring on a 2-yard run to give Oak Grove a 35-7 lead with 7:55 to play in the half.

James Harris intercepted a Washington pass to set Oak Grove up at the Haynesville 9-yard line and three plays later, Bradley scored from eight yards out and it was 41-7 after the extra point was blocked.

Haynesville ended the run when Byruss Burns broke a 68-yard touchdown run and Washington hit Jackson for the 2-point conversion to make it 41-15 by halftime.

The Golden Tornado pulled within 41-23 when Washington scored on a 12-yard run with 1:44 to play in the third quarter. Washington ran in the 2-point conversion.

Haynesville tried an onside kick, Oak Grove recovered, and the Tigers drove 49 yards in five plays with Freeman breaking free on a 31-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 48-23 with two seconds left in the third quarter.

Temarques Pritchard picked off a Washington pass and returned it to the Haynesville 22-yard line.

That led to another score as Freeman recovered a Bradley fumble in the end zone to give the Tigers a 55-23 lead with 10:04 to play in the game.

Haynesville answered with a 60-yard drive in five plays, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Washington to make it 55-29 with 8:08 to play in the game after a failed 2-point conversion attempt.

Oak Grove tacked another score on a 1-yard run by Madox Hurley to make it 62-29 with 6:45 to play in the game.

Tra Brooks hit Hampton on a 29-yard touchdown pass to make it 62-36 with 4:03 to play in the game.

Washington completed 6-of-19 passes for 113 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and he rushed eight times for 63 yards and two scores as he earned Most Outstanding Player for the Golden Tornado.

Haynesville (12-2) was once the dominant program among public schools, if not all schools, in the lower classifications in Louisiana, with 17 state championships, second most in Louisiana history.

That torch has been passed to Oak Grove, as the Tigers captured the eighth state championship in program history.