It’s the best time of year in Oxford.
No, we don’t mean the start of school. We mean the start of Oxford High School football.
Coach Bud Rowley’s Wildcats are ready and will open their season Friday by hosting one of the top football teams in the state, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
The Wildcats last week scrimmaged Lake Orion and other schools and gave Rowley a chance to see what this team could do.
The preliminary reports are good.
‘We got a good starting point and we know what we need to do,? Rowley said. ‘It was a good scrimmage by all means.?
The Cats are returning 12 seniors and Rowley said the team’s success will depend largely on those 12. There are 24 juniors on the squad, including several returning starters.
‘The seniors will be the leaders. You’re only as good as your seniors and these are great kids,? Rowley said. ‘They have worked hard lifting weights and they’ve done everything I’ve asked of them.?
The team will have a few new offensive ‘wrinkles? as Rowley likes to call them.
Those wrinkles are expected to use some of the talents of a senior quarterback Billy Keenist, running backs Sergio Schlak, Nick Murray, Joel Fortier, Joseph Regan, wide-outs Christopher Harper and Jeremy Bukoski and tight end Brad Grunewald.
The offensive line will include Joshua Rutkowski, Daniel Johnston, Kenneth Mueller, and Mitch Blose. One of the senior linemen, Scott Pulliam, will be out several weeks with a broken leg, Rowley said.
The defense will return five starters from last season, including three of the four defensive backs. The three returning defensive backs are Vinnie Ives, Nick Collier, and Bukoski. They will be joined by Schlak in the defensive backfield.
Other defensive starters are Nicholas Shufflin, Zachary Line, Murray, Michael Simpson, Rutkowski, and Mueller.
The team opens Friday at 7 p.m. by hosting Orchard Lake St. Mary. The following week, the Wildcats travel to Davison. The team then has seven consecutive Metro League games.
In week three, the Wildcats will travel to Holly. The next game will be against Clio, which is a new school in the Metro League. Oxford then has a home game against Brandon, followed by an away match at Lapeer West.
The Cats will host Lapeer East on October 7, followed by Linden on October 14. The team will complete its regular season on October 21 when they travel to Fenton.
Rowley said the team appears ready.
‘Here we go. It’s the fun time of year,? he said.