It isn’t usually the size of the football player that makes a winner but the size of the player’s heart and his determination and fight.
Oxford football Coach Bud Rowley understands that better than most. He regularly fields football teams that are smaller than their Flint Metro League opponents but outplay them week after week and year after year.
Following his team’s 24-21 come-from-behind victory over Kearsley on Thursday, Rowley told his team they had heart and he was proud of the way they played to win the game.
‘We’ve got 165, 170, 180-pound guys running around out there but they have so much heart and they are learning how to win,? Rowley said.
The size difference was especially evident on the offensive and defensive lines, where Kearsley players out-weighed the Oxford starters at nearly every position and by a considerable amount.
What Rowley noted was how his team fought back offensively to re-take the lead in the fourth quarter and then twice stifled the Hornets? offense to secure the victory.
Kearsley took a lead for the first time in the game, 21-17, with 9:11 left in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats then marched 80 yards for a score, converting two fourth downs in the drive, before Bart Nolde ran the final five yards, to put Oxford up 24-21.
After the score, the Oxford defense stepped up. An interception by Gabe Grifka stopped a drive. After Oxford’s offense was held, they punted again and Kearsley began a drive from their 13-yard line.
This time it was Gary Wurtz who intercepted a pass on Oxford’s 30 with only 50 seconds left to stop any Kearsley momentum.
The teams were tied at 14 at halftime. Nolde scored Oxford’s first TD ‘with 2:15 left in the first quarter. Matt Versteeg then connected on the first of his three conversions.
Kearlsey scored to tie the game with 5:41 left in the second quarter. Oxford quarterback Vito Giannola scored on a six-yard run with 1:30 left before halftime.
A 64-yard kickoff return by Kearsley gave them good field position and they scored on a 17-yard pass just 22 seconds before halftime.
In the third quarter, Versteeg connected on a 36-yard field goal to put Oxford ahead, 17-14, with 2:02 left.
Early in the fourth quarter, Kearsley recovered a Wildcat fumble on Oxford’s 12 yard line. They scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak with 9:11 left and took a 21-17 lead.
That was when the Wildcats? determination showed as they marched 80 yards for the winning score. During the drive, Chris Calvin caught a 13-yard pass and Prescott Line picked up another 13 yards on a run.
Late in the drive, the Wildcats had a fourth down and two from the Hornets? seven-yard line. Nolde picked up the first down by the length of the football and then scored on the next play from five yards away.
Oxford’s defense then stepped up with the two interceptions in the final 9 minutes to stop the Hornets.
Oxford finished with 222 rushing yards. Quarterback Zac Miller was four-for-six and 42 yards passing. Nolde had 75 yards rushing, Line had 70 and Miller 54.
The Wildcats are 2-0 in the FML and will meet Lapeer West at 7 p.m. on Friday at Wildcat Stadium. West also is undefeated, having beat Kearsley and Fenton.