Q & A with Oakland head football coach Kevin Creasy

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BY JESSE SMITHEY

Seeing Maryville and Oakland face off in the Class 6A state semifinals every year since 2014 has rapidly become a Thanksgiving Week tradition. They even played early in the 2017 and 2018 regular seasons to complement their expected playoff showdowns.

The Rebels own a 5-4 advantage in those nine meetings from 2014-2020 and beat Oakland in the 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019 state semifinals en route to state championships in 2014, 2017 and 2019.

Oakland beat Maryville in the 2016, 2018 and 2020 semifinals and snagged 6A titles in 2018 and 2020.

All of Oakland’s four wins against Maryville from 2014-20 have come in Murfreesboro, so the defending-champion Patriots (13-0) are trying to buck that trend Friday when they come to Blount County.

Nevertheless, the Rebels (13-0) know full well that they are the underdog to nationally ranked Oakland.

And they know full well the task at hand: stop Oakland senior running back Jordan James. He’s a Georgia commit and a Mr. Football finalist. James averages better than 9 yards per carry.

And Maryville head coach Derek Hunt knows what Oakland head coach Kevin Creasy will likely do. And vice versa.

The familiarity is there.

And through those constant meetings with Oakland, here’s what we have learned: Kevin Creasy is a good dude.

We’ve gotten a chance to talk to Creasy a few times.

And it’s always a pleasure.

So, we reached out to him this week and set up a Q&A to get a fresh perspective on this Maryville-Oakland series … but more so to get Creasy’s vantage point on what it was like to take over at 6A Oakland in March 2015 after a championship-filled tenure at 2A power Trousdale County.

Also: What is it like coaching in the midstate with an ever-growing population and monstrous Division II programs around every corner? Any similarities with how he runs his program with that of Maryville’s?

Creasy answered all that and more below. Enjoy …

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