When the Tennessee Titans Mr. Football finalists were announced on Nov. 25, the stats for Oakland senior Craig Tutt might not have wowed anyone.
But when the games matter most, the Ole Miss commitment shows time and time again why he belongs on the stage among fellow finalists Andre Adams (Antioch) and Kelvin Perkins (Southwind).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCase in point was in the Class 6A state semifinals on Nov. 28 when the top-ranked Patriots rolled past fourth-ranked Blackman 42-14 to reach the BlueCross Bowl for the sixth consecutive season. Oakland (14-0) will play second-ranked Ravenwood (14-0) at 6 p.m. CT on Dec. 6 at Chattanooga's Finley Stadium in the Tennessee high school football championship game.
"Like I've said before, it's doing whatever my team needs me to do," said Tutt, who had 224 total yards and scored four touchdowns in the win. "Tonight was me carrying the load, and I feel like I did a pretty good job."
Tutt, who was a Class 6A Mr. Football finalist last year before earning BlueCross Bowl MVP, entered the semifinals with a modest 768 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, but was averaging 7.2 yards per carry and is also one of the nation's top safety recruits (ranked 24th by 247Sports Composite).
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AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"We have a lot of players that can step up and do the job at any time," said Tutt, who was used moderately by Coach Kevin Creasy on offense during the regular season to keep him fresh on defense. "We didn't really need me as much. When my name was called, I was able to step up. So as long as we got the (win), that's all that mattered. They can have Mr. Football as long as we win the championship. That's all that matters."
Tutt's 21 carries vs. Blackman (12-2) were a season-high eclipsing the 19 he had in the season opener against Christ Presbyterian Academy and 15 in the first matchup against Blackman (12-2).
"We've been trying to save him in some of these games where we had leads, and you know, he doesn't have the stats, but he does have a fresh set of tires, I guess you could say," Creasy said. "We had some guys that were out, so he had to really step up tonight. He played every snap on defense, playing a lot on special teams and playing a lot on offense. That's what we expect big-time players to do."
Oakland's Mykeal Brown (0) and Oakland's Joel Wyatt (14) celebrates the 42-14 win over Blackman in the semifinal football playoff game on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, at Oakland.TSSAA SEMIFINAL SCORES: TSSAA football playoffs scores for Tennessee high school semifinals
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOakland football steps up in battle of elite defenses
The game looked like it would be a defensive struggle on paper. Both teams came in allowing less than a touchdown a game. Blackman shut down Maryville 31-7 the previous week.
The Patriot defense took notice, limiting Blackman to 186 total yards.
"We have the best defensive coordinator in the state in Coach (David) Watson," said Oakland linebacker Mykeal Brown, who had three tackles. "Coach Watson gets us right every single week we prepare for this. We already did the first game (a 32-0 Oakland win over Blackman Week 6). We just did the same thing."
Oakland's Craig Tutt (1) runs to the end zone for a touchdown against Blackman during the semifinal football playoff game on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, at Oakland.Oakland was down two starting defensive backs in the game. Justis Haggard is out for the season with an ankle injury and Tennessee football commitment Joel Wyatt is nursing injuries he suffered in a quarterfinal win over Green Hill.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"We had to play our part," said Oakland's Kyrie Gainor, who had a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown late, his second in as many weeks. He and Tutt were the lone regular starters in the secondary. "We just had to focus on us, really. That's it. That's all we talked about all week, just focus on the game plan."
Tutt had rushing touchdowns of 35, 73 and 6 and added a 33-yard TD reception for Oakland, which built a 28-0 lead early in the third. He finished with 21 carries for 159 yards and four receptions for 64 yards. Kam Morton had 118 yards passing and two TDs, including a 36-yarder to Kemani Bass.
Jaevion Elliott rushed for 53 yards and added 86 passing for Blackman. Brylan Oduor accounted for all the receiving yards on five catches. Jabari Kemp and Micah Nance each had rushing touchdowns for the Blaze.
Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Craig Tutt, Oakland defeat Blackman to reach TSSAA football championship
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