The new Oxford football stadium was christened Friday in grand style.
A hard-nosed and opportunistic defense coupled with a solid offense led the Wildcats to a convincing 24-7 victory over Davison in the opening game at the sparkling new field.
This Friday the Cats will host Holly at 7:30 in the opening match-up in the Flint Metro League.
The game was determined by Oxford’s defense forcing turnovers when it appeared the Cardinals were headed for touchdowns in Oxford territory. Four Davison fumbles led to 17 Wildcat points.
Linebacker Paul Whiteman recovered four of the fumbles while teammate Nick Murray forced two of the fumbles.
The defense has not allowed a touchdown in the first half of both games this season.
The first Oxford score came on one of the turnovers when Whiteman pounced on a loose ball midway through the second quarter.
The Cats then moved the ball 75 yards in 10 plays and capped it with an 8-yard pass from Billy Keenist to Mike Jones in the corner of the end zone. Jones added the point after to give Oxford a 7-0 lead with 11.6 seconds left before halftime, making it the first TD scored in the new stadium.
Davison appeared ready to tie the game on its opening drive of the third quarter, moving down to the Wildcat two yard line before Murray forced a fumble that was recovered by Vinnie Ives.
Sergio Schlak picked up a first down out to near the 20 to give the Wildcats some breathing room.
Then came the turning point of the game. Keenist found wideout Chris Harper alone over the middle and hit him in stride for an 80-yard TD pass to give Oxford a 14-0 lead with 5:19 left in the third quarter.
The Cat’s next score also came courtesy of a Davison fumble. It led to Jones connecting on a 38-yard field goal to make it 17-0.
Davison finally got on the scoreboard when Brandon Freeman scored on a 31-yard TD with 7:18 left.
That’s when Oxford’s offense stepped up and made sure the Cardinals could not contemplate a comeback. The Davison offense never saw the ball again.
The Wildcats ran an 80-yard drive in 14 plays that chewed up 7:11 off the clock. During the drive, Schlak carried the ball 11 times for 66 yards, including the final 13 yards for a touchdown with 6.4 seconds left on the clock. The final run came on a fourth down and seven from the 13.
Schlak said following the game he was tired, after rushing 30 times for 219 yards.
‘I thought Nick Rock or Hugo Gomez were going to come in and give me a break,? he said.
Schlak said the offense could sense that Davison’s defense was tired.
‘We were getting pumped up about them getting tired,? he said. ‘As long as my offensive line was blocking so well, we could do some damage.?
Keenist, who threw for 114 yards and two touchdowns, said the offense knew it had to control the ball and the clock on the final drive.
‘As the second half went on we were making things happen,? he said.