CHATTANOOGA — Oakland football coach Kevin Creasy will readily admit he might be crazy. Maybe a little OCD. He's gotten some strange looks with the double-digit hours he routinely puts into his craft — his "second job."
Creasy will practice one play over and over and over. He'll either force you accept the monotony or you'll be forced to love the process. Either way, you're accepting your fate when you play for his Patriots. But you'll also accept the state championship rings that come with it.
"I don't know that he's crazy. Maybe a little," Oakland running back, and Ole Miss signee, Craig Tutt said, after rushing for 226 yards and tying a TSSAA football state championship game record with seven touchdowns in an MVP effort as Oakland rolled 62-21 over previously undefeated Ravenwood on Dec. 6 at Finley Stadium. "I mean, who's a better coach in the state?"
The results speak for themselves. Creasy's 10-year odyssey with Oakland has produced six state titles. His latest 6A title is the team's second straight and fifth in the past six years. And he did it against a team that beat Oakland in 2024.
And that's really the point of it all.
Oakland (15-0) rarely loses. In Creasy's 10 seasons, he's lost 11 games. Since 2020, he's never lost to the same team twice. There have been shocking losses. Riverdale's Region 3-6A title win, 25-24, two years ago comes to mind. But Riverdale lost in the state quarterfinals to Oakland later in the season, 56-0. Ravenwood (14-1) failed in its second attempt at Oakland in as many years. It's 32-31 win in the 2024 regular season was met with a motivated Patriots team that remembered that loss.
Only Maryville can say it has beaten Creasy more than once. In fact, the Rebels won three of five games against Oakland, all in the playoffs and all in Creasy's first five seasons with the program. But since 2020? He's never lost to Maryville, going 5-0.
He learns from his mistakes. His film sessions are legendary and it's probably to his detriment at times but he doesn't like to blame losses on anyone but himself, and he hates to blame himself.
"It's like Bruce Lee said. I'd rather practice one kick a thousand times than a thousand kicks one time," Creasy said. "We do a lot on offense and people don't realize that. But our bread and butter is something we're going to know without thinking about it."
Creasy isn't going to air it out. His offense is physical and it can destroy an opponent's will. So thorough is Creasy's coaching habits that Ravenwood coach Ricky Rodriguez knew about Oakland football nearly 2,000 miles away when he was coaching in California before coming to Tennessee.
"You learn from coaches like him," Rodriguez said. "He's one of the best to ever coach at the high school level and it's an honor to coaching on the field with him. We take this loss and we'll learn from it. When you face someone like him, you are going to learn something about yourself."
Reach The Tennessean's high school sports editor, George Robinson, at georgerobinsontheleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Oakland coach Kevin Creasy wins sixth TSSAA football state championship