CHESAPEAKE, Va. — CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WTKR) — For the first time in three seasons, Oscar Smith has work outs to get to on the week of state championships.
Senior defensive back Jahmari DeLoatch was around for the last time they went through those practices in 2021 and not much has changed.
"Everybody's positive, everybody's happy. You can tell that nobody's nervous," he said. "Everybody's just out here having fun and that's what I like to see."
That's been the vibe for the Tigers for all of 2024. After two years of missing out on making it to the state playoffs, Chris Scott's group has gone 14-0 en route to a Class 6 state championship matchup against James Madison on Saturday evening in Harrisonburg.
"It's been a fast, long ride. But these guys have done a lot of work to get back here," the head coach said. "I couldn't be more proud and the coaches and this school couldn't be more proud."
"It feels great. We worked a lot this summer and we knew this was going to be the year," said sophomore quarterback Lonnie Andrews. "We just got to keep working until we get this game this Saturday."
This is familiar territory for the Tigers, who have won state titles in 2008, 2011, and in both the spring and fall seasons of 2021. Between 2008 and the fall 2021 season, Oscar Smith made nine state championship games.
The 2022 and 2023 campaigns, however, tested how the program would respond to adversity. The team missed the state playoffs in both seasons, and 2023 brought on the most losses for Oscar Smith since 2001. An 8-4 record would be more than satisfactory for plenty of programs, but the Tigers weren't ready to accept that.
"We tried not to mind it too much, but we knew it wasn't Smith football," Andrews said. "Being able to get back there this year, it just redefines what Smith football has to come."
"That 'S' on our chest is the standard, and the standard is the standard," Scott said. "These guys had to grow up and now they're upholding that standard. We talked about standing on the shoulders of giants. They've had some brothers come before them that have been pretty successful, and now they're ready to go ahead and lock in and add to that."
Those growing pains came during an extremely difficult time off the field. Former Tiger offensive lineman Tajh Boyd passed away in August of 2023, leaving his former teammates heartbroken.
"Every day we talk about him. Every day, we bring up things that we enjoyed about him," DeLoatch said. "It still sits tight with us."
"Whether it's breaking down the film, whether it's remembering the great things that the brothers before accomplished, and he was one of those," Scott said, "he's always with us."
This week's preparation has brought on a few more memories of Boyd's contributions to the program. He was a leader on the last Oscar Smith team to win the state championship in 2021.
"We go down and look at the film the last time we played (James Madison), and we see us running right behind big 78," Scott remembered. "He's with us always."
Saturday's title game will give the Tigers a chance to honor his memory with the way they play.
"It plays a big part of why we're doing it and why we want to make it to 15 games," Andrews said. "We always talk about him as a team and we just keep going."
"It does mean a lot. It does hit a little different," DeLoatch said.
After two years of challenges on and off the field, Oscar Smith is not taking the last week of practices together for granted. It's a return to a time of year they're used to playing in and the Tigers are more than ready to make up for lost time.
"These guys have certainly that standard, and they're bringing us to even higher streets," Scott said.
"Going 15-0, winning a state championship, it would be perfect," DeLoatch said. "It can't get better than that."
Oscar Smith and James Madison will kick things off on Saturday evening at 5:00 PM from Bridgeforth Stadium.
