CHESAPEAKE — Whenever Indian River and Oscar Smith get together, you can expect a backyard brawl as the past three games had been settled by fewer than 14 points.
And Saturday wouldn’t be any different.
Second-ranked Oscar Smith jumped out to a 27-point lead at home, and it looked like the Tigers were going to run away with the victory. The eighth-ranked Braves rallied, though, but fell short as the Tigers prevailed with a 33-20 victory in front of more than 2,500 fans.
The first half was all Oscar Smith, specifically wide receiver Travis Johnson and quarterback Lonnie Andrews III. The duo connected on seven passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.
“That felt great because coming into the game, Travis didn’t have any touchdowns,” said Andrews, who completed 13 of 19 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. “So just being able to come out here and get Travis all these touchdowns just makes me happy … as well as I know it makes him happy.”
Oscar Smith returner Jayden Covil leaps over Indian River defender Jay’Sean Preston on the opening kickoff Saturday. (Billy Schuerman/Staff)
They connected on their first touchdown on the second possession of the game, when Johnson took a short pass from Andrews and raced 72 yards.
The game also featured another highly touted quarterback in Indian River freshman Lord Malik Heru, but Jamari Custis intercepted his first pass. It was the first of three interceptions for Heru, but he would settle down.
The Tigers capitalized on the interception when Andrews threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Lincoln Halliday to make it 14-0.
After a punt, Andrews threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Johnson to make it 21-0.
Travis Johnson and Lonnie Andrews III hook for the second for TD. Extra point blocked. Oscar Smith 20, Indian River 0 (1st) pic.twitter.com/X67Uu3oUqT
— Larry Rubama (@LHRubama) September 20, 2025
They hooked up again a short time later when Johnson made a diving catch in the end zone to give the Tigers a 27-0 lead.
Heru finally got the Braves on the board with 6:57 left in the first half with a 53-yard touchdown pass to Jason Preston to cut the deficit to 27-7.
Oscar Smith answered before the half on Andrews’ 10-yard touchdown pass to Charles McGlown to give the Tigers a 33-7 halftime lead.
“The first half was great. The atmosphere was great. The energy was great,” said Johnson, a Michigan commit. “The second half, we let off a little bit, but we got it done.”
The second half would be all Indian River as Heru scored on a 1-yard touchdown run and a 1-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Brown to help cut the deficit to 33-20 with 4:19 left in the third quarter. Heru completed 10 of 18 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns, with three interceptions.
The Braves had several chances in the fourth quarter to make it even closer, but the Tigers’ defense turned them back, including Brandon Church’s interception with 3:26 left in the game.
Big interception late by Brandon Church is big for Oscar Smith. Oscar Smith 33, Indian River 20 with 1:20 left pic.twitter.com/26QDXGJCYW
— Larry Rubama (@LHRubama) September 20, 2025
“I love my defense. We didn’t score in the second half, but they did a great job,” Johnson said. “It’s a great rivalry, a great game. Indian River is a great team with great coaches. So it feels great to win it.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
