Sports Editor's Note: In a previous article written about the Oxford varsity football team, a senior's name was omitted from the senior photo. The correct spelling of said senior, number 65 for the Blackhawks, is Jonathan Walker.
OXFORD – The Oxford varsity football team has made it two wins in row now – defeating Elmira-Notre Dame in a huge Class D upset two weeks ago – before most recently downing Thomas A. Edison at home by a score of 40-8.
Sophomore running back Xavier Cruz has continued to pour on the yards as of late in the season – as he now has amassed 1,206 yards on the ground with 10 touchdowns – following his game against Edison where he racked up four touchdowns and 251 yards on the ground. Notably, Cruz had three other long touchdown runs that were called back in the one-sided contest for the Blackhawks against Edison on Oct. 21.
“This is the second game that we have had a complete game where we played in all three aspects – offense, defense, and special teams,” said Oxford head coach Jeff Newton.
Scoring twice in the opening quarter – as Oxford laid on the rushing attack – was Cruz ripping off a 52 yard and a 15 yard touchdown run respectively. However, Thomas A. Edison was not to break so easily, as they fired right back at the Blackhawks with some ground game magic of their own.
Thomas A. Edison's Tarryl Garner closed out the scoring in the first with a 69 run for the end zone, making it the longest scoring play of the night for either team. Entering into the second quarter, the Blackhawks fans were poised for a rushing showdown, however, that long run for the end zone from Edison in the first half proved to be the final score from the team – as Oxford's defense dominated the remainder of the game – Thomas A. Edison would only manage to move past the 50 yard line twice in the entire game.
Oxford enjoyed two more touchdowns from Cruz – one in the second and one in the third – before the scoring was handed over to Rece Camadine and Jacob Smith to finish out the game. Camadine corralled in an eight yard pass for the end zone in the third, before Smith added the finishing touches scoring his 14 yard run in the fourth quarter of play.
Following the 40-8 beat-down of Thomas A. Edison coach Newton said, “The refs and coach said we are the classiest group of guys they've played against.”
However, despite the camaraderie of the sport and sportsmanship shown from the Blackhawks, the game was decided by a wide margin – largely in part due to the Oxford defense. On that defense, Jon Heggie, a safety has now racked up 66 tackles on the season; while Jake Ingraham now has 41 tackles 20 going for losses in 2016.
In last Friday's contest alone, Heggie managed to add 10 tackles and a forced fumble, with Phil Smith and Mickerson Clune each adding nine. Chris Martin and Darren Law each got involved in turnovers in the game with Martin grabbing a late interception and Law causing a forced fumble.
With the win Oxford (4-4 overall) will now be searching for their second straight winning season when they host Deposit-Hancock this coming Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m.
