Those who haven't had the pleasure of watching the Oakland Patriots play football in recent years may be wondering...how do they continue to be number one in the high school ranks year after year?

  The 62-21 roasting of Ravenwood in the Class 6A BlueCross Bowl on December 6 provided the Patriots with their second consecutive state championship and fifth title in the last six seasons. Overall, Oakland has now claimed nine titles in Tennessee's highest classification. Once again...how do they do it?

  The latest win was a classic example of why Oakland has been able to hoist the gold with regularity during the past six years. Breaking like a racehorse from the gates, it took less than two minutes for the Patriots to find paydirt. Six minutes into the contest, they had a fourteen point lead and that grew to twenty eight by halftime. A big play rushing attack which featured the fleet footed Craig Tutt rolled up over 400 yards on the ground and completely controlled the contest. Every time Ravenwood appeared to have a little momentum, Oakland answered.

  So, let's break this down. Oakland runs the football extremely well, plays very solid defense, and controls the clock. All these have been staples of head coach Kevin Creasy's game plan since his arrival back in 2015. Having big-play players like Tutt, who scored a record-tying seven touchdowns in the 2025 title tilt, have helped the Patriots, but the play in the trenches has been just as important. A basic style of blocking, tackling, and running the football has equaled enormoius success.

  Granted, Creasy has been able to re-load every year with talent, but the botom line is his teams execute with near flawless precision. Basic fundamentals and a simple appraoch to the game has made Oakland the current king of the high school football world. Kevin Creasy and his staff have not reinvented the wheel here, but they sure have figured out how to make it roll.