There’s no high school football entrance like it in the 757. Here are the origins of Oscar Smith’s ‘Tiger Cage.’

CHESAPEAKE — The hype starts innocently as Oscar Smith players walk out of the locker room and head toward the field.

As they get closer to the metal cage that sits in the end zone, the music begins.

As they pile into the cage, including some climbing at the top of it, the music intensifies.

Then comes the blue and yellow smoke.

Then more music, as players begin to rock from one side to the other in unison with the music.

Then, the doors of “The Tiger Cage” fly open as the players run onto the field.

It’s the sight and entertainment that fans look forward to at every Oscar Smith home game.

“You look at it in the daylight and it’s just some metal bars with blue and gold on it,” said Oscar Smith athletic director Ray Collins. “But when all of the kids load in there, and all of that energy comes pouring out onto the field, it’s pretty amazing.”

The entrance is like no other in Hampton Roads.

It gets the home team fired up, and gets the opposition’s attention. Videos of the entrance on social media get thousands of views, likes and comments.

“It’s like saying, ‘We’re going into battle now,’ ” said former Western Branch coach Lew Johnston. “For a bunch of kids who are not very confident going into the game, it can be as intimidating as heck.”

Former King’s Fork coach Joe Jones remembers seeing the cage for the first time.

“When they came out, it got me fired up because it was something that I hadn’t seen around here,” he said. “For me, I think that’s the most intimidating (entrance) around. I always said, if your a competitor, this will crank you up. If that doesn’t crank you up to play hard, then you’re not a competitor.”

Richard Morgan arrived at Oscar Smith in 2002. He took a program that was middle-of-the-pack and transformed it into a perennial region and state power and into the national conversation. During his reign, the Tigers won 82 consecutive Southeastern District games and at least a share of 12 consecutive district regular-season championships. He also led them to state titles in 2008 and 2011 and two other appearances in the state final.

But Morgan always looked for an edge to help his team.

Terry Batten, a former Oscar Smith quarterback in the early 1980s, has been a part of the program. He remembers when the Tiger Cage came into existence.

“Todd Springer, who was an assistant coach under Richard Morgan, and his brother, Corey, had a little brainstorming session and came together with the idea,” he said.

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Jeff Rowland, another former Oscar Smith player, helped bring the plan to fruition.

“Corey Springer came to me with his idea. He wanted to do something to get the players hyped,” he said. “I’m a metal distributor, and Corey was a customer of mine. He came to me with the idea. And it took off from there.”

What Rowland didn’t expect, however, was how it evolved.

“Now, I had no idea that they would be climbing all over it,” Rowland said with a chuckle. “But I love it when I see them. They’re up there having a ball and doing their thing. I had no idea that this thing would get like this.”

Former Oscar Smith star quarterback Phillip Sims said the Tiger Cage was born in 2008.

“It was my sophomore year. To be honest, at the time, I thought it was crazy. But now, that’s part of their identity of what Oscar Smith football is,” said Sims, the current Princess Anne High coach who set numerous Virginia High School League passing records at Smith and was the 2009 Abe Goldblatt All-Tidewater Player of the Year. “That just speaks volumes to who Morgan was as a coach, to have the foresight and 20 years later what he started, and it’s still going. They’ve taken it and made it their own.”

Former Oscar Smith star Joe Jones didn’t have the Tiger Cage when he played. But he saw its impact when he returned as a coach.

“Coach Morgan was always looking for an edge and looking for different ways to motivate the players,” he said. “It’s definitely blown up, including nationally.”

He also remembers how an opposing coach in the playoffs once kept his team behind the bleachers until the team came out of the cage.

“They stayed behind the visiting stands until it was over and didn’t even acknowledge that it was something to see,” Jones said. “My first year at Lakeland, I did the same thing. We didn’t hit the field until they got out of the cage.”

Oscar Smith running back Brandon Nesbit Jr. remembers seeing the Tiger Cage when he played for Deep Creek.

“When I first saw it, I didn’t think too much of it because I was on the other side of the field,” he said. “But it was sweet; it was cool.”

Now that he’s a Tiger?

“It’s good,” Nesbit says with a huge smile. “It’s a good feeling. When we come out the Tiger Cage, it’s straight business.”

How special is it? Only varsity players get to come out of the Tiger Cage.

There have been a few exceptions, including Oscar Smith quarterback Lonnie Andrews III.

When he was 5, he got to come out of the Tiger Cage with the team.

“It meant a lot because I had my dad’s jersey on. It was a great experience,” said Andrews, the son of the late star Oscar Smith running back. “It’s our tradition. It’s where we get hyped and puts the opposing team in fear.”

Former Indian River and Lakeland coach Glenwood Ferebee knows all about the Tiger Cage.

“I know it was intimidating to the kids because it was something different,” he said. “It was an electric atmosphere.”

Ferebee liked it so much that when he was recently hired at Butler High in North Carolina, he copied the idea.

“We’re the Bulldogs, so I got a dog kennel instead of a cage,” Ferebee said with a chuckle. “I saw the impact that it had for Oscar Smith. … I hope it helps to get the energy going here. We lost last week, but a lot of people gave us compliments on it. It definitely gives you that edge.”

Said Oscar Smith star defensive back Jahmari DeLoatch: “It’s more than just a Tiger Cage,” he said. “It’s one of the things that makes Oscar Smith, Oscar Smith.”

Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com