The Oscar Smith Tigers football program did something no team in VHSL (Virginia High School League) history had ever done. Win two Virginia State football championship titles in the same calendar year. The Tigers defeated James Madison High School 42–17 in the 2021 state championship to capture the first back-to-back championship in the school’s program.
Head Coach Chris Scott had stated that 2021 was a “two-fer year” and with the win, his statement proved to be prophetic.
Oscar Smith, and their high potent big-play offense, came into the championship averaging 52.4 points per game. And they didn’t disappoint. Madison’s defense gave up 42 points after not surrendering more than 21 in a game all season.
One of the senior captains for the James Madison Warhawks, LB Ryan Salvosa, stated “They didn’t try to trick us, I tip my hat to them, because they ran it right down our throat, which no one had ever done to us before.”
Tigers running back Kevin King led the way, rushing for 290 yards and 3 TDs. King had an amazing game despite suffering an early injury.
Coach Chris Scott stated “We were a little worried because he actually dislocated his finger on the first series. He got that thing put back in and told me he might not be able to catch”
But he sure could run. He scored his 3 touchdowns from 33, 57, and 96 yards out.
The Tigers, led by team captains Ethan Vasko, Sherrod Covil, Maarten Woudsma and Kevon King, ran for 381 total yards while surrendering only 17 points on defense.
Prior to the season there were some skeptics who questioned the validity of the 2020 championship, since it was delayed and not played until May of 2021 due to COVID. But after the dominating victory, nobody is questioning that now.
Tigers QB Ethan Vasko “Last year we dominated everyone and we earned it, this year we did the same thing. So we deserve both of them, man. We came out here, we worked, and we played great!”
DB Sherrod Covil, a Clemson commit who had 17 pass breaks ups to go along with his 6 interceptions (he also rushed for 260 yards and 5 TDs during the season) “Back to back! We had to shut up the haters and we did. We ran it back to back, and we are ready to do it again next year.”
Kelvon Bethea, who led the team with 18 sacks during the season stated “This is not a COVID ring, this is a real one! This is very satisfying. We feel like we shut up all the haters. We blocked out all of the negative energy and came out here and played Oscar Smith football.”
The Tigers ended their historic season with a 13–1 record, scoring 671 points while only allowing 112. The dominance culminated with 2 state titles in one calendar year. An amazing feat. The entire program deserves a lot of credit for their sustained success. Congratulations to the entire coaching staff, players, and school administrators.
Thank you to Sabrina Bankes for keeping me informed with the team throughout the season. I met her while doing a story on former Tiger, and current Philadelphia Eagle, DE Josh Sweat. Her enthusiasm and updates kept me interested in the team all year. And like she said “We are going for number 3 in 2022”
After this year, nobody is going to doubt them.
Oscar Smith is currently raising money for their program to help with costs associated commemorating their historic achievement with a state championship ring. Any contribution is greatly appreciated.
Photo Credits to Michael Le
The team had 10 All-Tidewater selections.
Offense:
Kevon King @kevonking8
Ethan Vasko @EthanVasko
Amonte Jones @MonteJuiceman
Maarten Woudsma @WoudsmaMaarten
Brock Stukes @BrockStukes
Defense:
Caleb Jones @Cjgocrazi
Kelvon Bethea @KBethea8
Sherrod Covil @rodZilla03
Cincere Quarterman @CincereG6L
Asaad Brown @AsaadJ