Oak Ridge pummels Grizzlies, 49-0

Oak Ridge continues to pummel Sierra Foothill League opponents. Since its close 28-21 loss to Folsom on Oct. 16, the Trojans have torched Jesuit, 42-0, and followed that win with a 49-0 win against Granite Bay on Friday night. That's two straight SFL wins by a combined score of 91-0 and that's pretty impressive. "We played really well against Jesuit and we got off to a good start and played well against Granite Bay," Oak Ridge coach Casey Taylor said. The first play from scrimmage, Nick Johnson threw a screen pass to Isaac Pierce, and Pierce took it 70 yards for a touchdown. The next time the Trojans touched the ball, Braxton Martinez returned a Granite Bay punt 62 yards for a score. By the end of the first quarter, the Trojans led 21-0 after a 28-yard touchdown run from Dylan Esten and the rout was on. Jack Granrud caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to open the scoring in the second quarter. A nine-yard flip to Martinez scored the team's second touchdown, while the third score came on a 100-yard interception return from Pierce. Tye Gonsalves ended the scoring with a touchdown run in the fourth quarter. "We only ran 28 plays on offense," Taylor said. "We pulled our starters out at halftime. We played well in all three facets of the game. We ran the ball well and that was important because we feel like our running game hasn't been where we wanted it to be." The Trojans rushed for 186 yards on 16 carries for an average of 11 yards per rush. Sean Gaston had 94 yards on nine carries to lead the way. Oak Ridge wraps up the regular season at home on Friday night against Whitney (6-3 overall, 2-3 in league). The Trojans will honor the team's 20 seniors. "Hopefully, we play well," Taylor said. "We're not going to overlook them because they've had a good year."