When the time came late in Friday night’s homecoming game against Farmington, every Wildcat knew what needed to be done.
The score was tied at 28-28 and the Wildcats needed a long drive.
It was time for Oxford football.
The Wildcats used Ben Line to pound the ball for eight consecutive carries, eating up nearly 50 yards and about six minutes off the clock.
The 60-yard drive ended with a quarterback option pitch to Scott Stubenrauch, who ran the final 12 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 6:34 left in the game to give the Wildcats a 35-28 lead .
Oxford then stopped the Falcons on two possessions. The final play of the game came when a Farmington pass fell incomplete on the two yard line on fourth down and eight with 26 seconds seconds left.
The entire game was back and forth which has become the norm when the two teams have met over the past few years.
Coach Bud Rowley said he was happy with the team’s performance, especially considering the distractions that homecoming brings.
‘We had a great second half to win this one,? he said. ‘Farmington played us right down to the last few seconds. This was a great game.?
The win improved Oxford’s record to 2-2. Both losses were less than a touchdown.
The Wildcats opened the scoring when Mitchel tilley returned an interception for 66 yards. Aaron Johnston kicked the first of his five conversions to give Oxford a 7-0 lead with 3:47 left in the first quarter. The Wildcats went up 14-0 following a fumble recovery by Zeb Throne and a three-yard TD by Stubenrauch.
Farmington got on the scoreboard on the ensuing kickoff on a 98 yard touchdown run.
The Wildcats went up 21-7 when Stubenrauch rumbled for a 34 yard touchdown.
The Falcons came back with the next three touchdowns to go ahead 28-21 with 1:43 left in the third quarter.
Wildcat quarterback Glacier Wallington tied the game with a 63-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Wildcat’s defense, lead by Wesley Maskill and Ben Line, stopped Farmington from getting into the end zone again. Meanwhile, Oxford’s ground game went into gear and ate up much of the time off the clock while scoring the only TD of the final quarter.
The Wildcats had 258 yards rushing to 109 for Farmington. Wallington ran four times for 92 yards. Line had 85 yards on 17 carries and Stubenrauch had three TDs and ran for 75 yards on 11 carries.
Maskill, Line, Anthony Chavez Moore and John Patrick led the tough Wildcat offense.