After Oak Grove began the season with a 45-7 win over Purvis, which was highlighted by a dynamic offense that gained 504 yards of total offense by using a plethora of weapons, how could the Warriors get better? Well, their starting running back could come back from injury.
Sure, that could help.
In Week 1 and the jamboree, senior Tyler Taylor carried the load, and did a fantastic job. Other players who got carries were junior Jack Harris, senior Hayes Maples junior Jarius Smith and, of course, junior quarterback John Rhys Plumlee. All seven players who recorded a rushing attempt, even punter Brennan Sobiesk, showed the ability to move the ball up field.
But, there’s no doubt senior Orlando Simon was the guy for the offense, and he was back Friday night against Wayne County.
“He was excited, and I was, too,” Oak Grove coach Drew Causey said. “He’s such a special kid who plays hard every play. He doesn’t worry about what kind of gloves he has on, or what kind of helmet he’s got. He just wants a pair of shoulder pads, a helmet and go. He’s special and I love him.”
Simon finished the night with a team-high 90 rushing yards on 12 carries.
“It feels good,” he said “I went in ready to play, and that’s what happened. My offensive line did what they had to do, so I just had to make plays.”
He got going early in the game, taking the third snap of the game for a 9-yard gain. Then, he ripped off gains of 20 and 11 yards on the next two plays to help set up a touchdown pass from Plumlee to junior Kevin Barnett.
The bulk of his carries came in the first half, when the game was still close, but he did leave the field three separate times after getting banged up. He returned to the field every time, though. He got the wind knocked out of him the first time, then had a couple of cramps.
“He hasn’t done a whole lot,” Causey said. “He’s done some running and some things like that, but he’s just had contact this week. He got hit in the gut, and we kind of knew it was that.”
Simon would continue to get carries throughout the night while the game was – kind of – close, but he’s still searching for his first touchdown of his senior season. The Oak Grove offense rushed for 223 yards and two touchdowns, while racking up 438 yards of total offense.
“It feels good,” Simon said about playing with this offense. “When everybody plays big, we just have a good game.”
Causey said in July himself and Simon sat down to discuss personal goals for Simon this season, and they both set a high bar for the senior. Simon wants to rush for 1,500 yards in 2017, and after missing the first game due to an injury, he has a lot of ground to make up.
“I just need to stay in shape and make sure everything is good with my body,” Simon said. “Just stay healthy.”
One thing is for sure, Plumlee is happy to have Simon in the backfield with him again.
“He’s a lot of fun to play beside,” Plumlee said. “He has a lot of emotion in this game. He really loved it being out here again.”
