Oak Ridge aerial assault riddles Huskies

EL DORADO HILLS — To conclude the annual Football for Families showcase Saturday, the Oak Ridge Trojan football team walloped visiting Washington 49-0.

Senior quarterback Jason Samuels torched the Husky defense for four touchdowns in the first half, three to Byron Spain. Oak Ridge ups its record to 3-0 while Washington from Fremont fell to 0-2.

“When you play a familiar opponent, you kind of know what to expect when you take the field, but not knowing Washington, only having one film of them, there were a lot of question marks,” Trojan coach Eric Cavaliere said.

Those were quickly answered with a game-opening 66-yard drive by the Trojans that culminated with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Samuels to Spain. After Troy forced a Husky three-and-out, Oak Ridge extended on a 31-yard touchdown pass that Spain hauled in with 5:05 left in the first quarter.

“(Samuels and Spain) have been throwing to each other for the past two years. They’re very close friends off the field, and it really shows on the field,” Cavaliere said.

After Washington gained a couple first downs, Oak Ridge forced a punt that Thomas Mahlman blocked and returned 30 yards for a Trojan touchdown to conclude the first-quarter scoring.

On the next punt, Bradford Buenzli returned it 26 yards, setting up the Trojan offense in Washington territory and another Samuels-Spain hook-up for the score.

Troy senior Zach Claiborne registered a sack to thwart the Huskies’ best drive. Samuels then found Bradford Buenzli in the back of the end zone to give Oak Ridge a commanding 35-0 lead at halftime.

Claiborne forced and recovered a fumble on the first play of the second half as junior Jacob Sipes took over at quarterback. Blake Martin broke tackles as he rumbled in for a touchdown and after a Marcus Padua-Dean interception, Josh Wellman broke through the line and scored a 10-yard touchdown. Kicker Ryan Lamb, a perfect 7 for 7 on PAT attempts, capped the scoring with a successful conversion.