Cole Worthington ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns as Arlington Oakridge completed its first unbeaten season with a 38-23 victory over Fort Worth Country Day in the SPC Class 3A football championship game Saturday at Maverick Stadium.
Worthington, who carried 22 times and scored touchdowns of 13, 13 and 27 yards, led a punishing ground game that had three players record more than 100 yards rushing, and Oakridge (10-0) overcame a 15-point second-quarter deficit to win its third SPC championship, joining the titles in 2011 and 2003 when 3A was known as Division II.
Quarterback Luke Dearman accumulated 133 rushing yards on 16 attempts, while Gary Nunn add 106 — including 102 in the second half — on 16 carries and a 2-yard fourth-quarter score that gave Oakridge a 31-23 lead.
The Owls’ run game coordinator and running backs coach is the legendary NFL and TCU great LaDainian Tomlinson.
“Just a tremendous job by the entire team,” first-year Oakridge head coach Jeromy Flowers said. “Everybody did a great job, offense, defense. Unbelievable feeling.”
Making history as the only Owls squad to finish a season unbeaten, Flowers said he could “not fathom that at the beginning of the season.”
“Guys bought into the program as to what we were trying to do,” he said. “Credit to the coaches and players, who put in all the hard work.”
After a scoreless opening quarter, both teams got their offenses untracked in the second period.
A pair of 1-yard TD runs by Country Day’s Fox Burton staked the Falcons to a 15-0 advantage. The first score was set up on a 78-yard run by Canaan Factor on a fourth-and-10 from the Falcons’ own 9-yard line off a fake punt. Factor caught a 2-point conversion pass from Owen Bloemendal for an 8-0 lead.
After Country Day (7-2) forced a three-and-out on the next series, Burton capped a five-play, 47-yard drive with his second TD run, leaving Oakridge with a 15-0 deficit.
“We did not get down,” Dearman said. “Everybody in that locker room, before the game, during the game, at halftime said we were not gonna lose this game.”
Oakridge stormed back. Worthington finished off a 10-play, 75-yard drive that used 4:20 off the clock. On the next Country Day possession, Oakridge defensive lineman Easton Jefferson snatched a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage and ran 37 yards for an interception return TD. Joshua Dees ran in a pair of 2-point conversions that gave Oakridge a 16-15 lead heading into the break.
Worthington’s 13-yard third-period TD run gave Oakridge a 22-15 lead.
Country Day responded with a 59-yard TD pass from Cooper Paul to Major Factor, and the duo connected on a 2-point conversion to give Country Day a 23-22 edge.
A Will Lemonds 30-yard field goal regained the lead for Oakridge with 18 seconds left in the third quarter.
“That was a huge make for us,” Flowers said. “It gave us the momentum back.”
It was a lead Oakridge would not relinquish, as Nunn’s 2-yard TD run midway in the final period extended the lead to 31-23. Worthington’s 27-yard scoring burst with 1:50 left sealed the win, and the championship, for the Owls.
“Resilient,” Dearman said. “That is how I would describe this team. We faced a lot of adversity this season and never gave up. That trophy was gonna be ours.”
Oakridge finished with 389 rushing yards on 60 attempts.
Lift from LaDainian Tomlinson
Flowers and the players were quick to praise the contributions of Tomlinson.
“Character. Focus. Just immeasurable the impact he has had on our program,” Flowers said.
“When a Hall of Famer talks, you listen,” Nunn said. “It had such a tremendous impact on this team.”
The 2006 NFL MVP, Tomlinson’s Texas ties run deep, having attended Waco University High School and then amassing 5,263 yards and 54 TDs in four years at TCU, finishing fourth in the 2000 Heisman Trophy voting.
He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2001 draft by the San Diego Chargers and ran for 13,684 yards and 145 TDs in a stellar 11-year NFL career that ended after the 2011 season. He ranks seventh in NFL history in rushing yards and second all-time in rushing TDs, trailing only Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith’s 164.
Regular-season matchup halted by weather
Oakridge and Country Day faced each other Oct. 24 during the regular season. However, the contest was called in the third quarter because of inclement weather, with Oakridge leading 8-6. Country Day athletic director Leigh Block explained the cancellation.
“We did have lightning and then rain. We played as much as we could play. Stopped in third quarter,” he said. “Since we knew we’d be playing each other in two weeks there was no need to wait around for hours or try to come back Saturday.”
Country Day was seeking its 14th championship.
