The Oxford Wildcats have had to overcome adversity this season but couldn’t muster enough offensive weaponry to stop highly ranked Flint Carman-Ainsworth Friday night.
The undefeated Cavaliers, ranked third in the state in Division I, handed the Cats their first loss of the season, 22-6, to drop them to 3-1.
The first homecoming game at Oxford’s new stadium was marred by an ankle fracture to tailback/linebacker and team co-captain Pat Streit. The injury was the third consecutive game that an Oxford running back suffered an injury.
Tailback Sergio Schlak and fullback Nick Rock were injured in the two prior weeks.
Before Streit’s injury, the Wildcats were moving the ball well and were outplaying Carman-Ainsworth.
The injury was sustained at the end of a run when Streit was tackled by all-state defensive back Otis Wiley. The run gave Streit 41 yards rushing on six carries at that point. No other Wildcat could equal that amount the remainder of the game.
The Wildcats put the first points on the board shortly after Streit’s injury when Mike Jones kicked a school-record 52-yard field goal with 27 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Cavaliers? Rodney Harris got the first of his two touchdowns with 6:40 left in the second quarter to Carman-Ainsworth a 7-3 lead.
Carman-Ainsworth scored again before Oxford narrowed the gap to 14-6 on a 34-yard field goal by Jones early in the fourth quarter.
Carman-Ainsworth added its final touchdown and two-point conversion with 3:33 left in the game.
The Cavaliers had only 207 total yards but that included 147 yards rushing in the second half as their team speed took charge of the game.
The Wildcat defense held the Cavaliers to their lowest offensive output of the season. Harris finished with 91 yards rushing on 20 carries.
The Wildcats finished with only 123 total yards in offense. Quarterback Billy Keenist passed for 13 yards.
The Wildcats will travel to Brandon on Friday to take on the Blackhawks. The game will begin at 7:30 p.m. Brandon is 1-3 and 0-2 in the Flint Metro League.