Unionville shuts down Oxford, rolls to 5-0

EAST MARLBOROUGH — As the final seconds dwindled, Unionville’s Joe Zubillaga could be heard boasting proudly, repeatedly, “zero points.”

Unionville, on its home turf, sent a message to upstart Oxford and the rest of the Ches-Mont American Division with a resounding 40-0 win, Friday night.

The still-perfect Indians (2-0 division, 5-0 overall) kept the Hornets (0-2, 3-2), who had averaged 39 offensive points per game coming in, out of the end zone, limiting them to just 171 total yards.

“It was great,” Zubillaga said. “Their team was all hyped up with their offense, but our defense stepped up and bared down. Everyone thought our defense was overrated, but we showed when we play a whole game we can be a zero-point defense.”

While doubling as a linebacker, Zubillaga did his share on the offensive side, as well. He accounted for three of Unionville’s six touchdowns, scoring the first on the ground and the last two on the receiving end of Alex Gorgone passes.

Gorgone was 6-for-10 for 96 yards, and Zubillaga tallied 142 total yards.

“(Zubillaga) is a very versatile player and gave us some tough runs when we needed and had a couple of great catches,” Unionville coach Pat Clark said. “Both kids play well, and with Alex passing the ball well it makes us a balanced offense.”

Oxford had averaged 442.8 total yards of offense in its first four games, but after reaching the Unionville 15 on the game’s opening drive, the Hornets never threatened again.

“We thought we were better than we were,” Oxford coach Mike Means said. “I don’t know if it was the (3-0) start we had or a bad week of practice, but we got punched in the mouth and I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed in the staff and disappointed in the kids and we need the leadership to set up and get back to the basics. I didn’t expect to get beat like this.”

Unionville took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter, and on Oxford’s ensuing possession, Chandler England’s backward pass sailed over Tim Faber’s head. The whistle never blew and Unionville’s Alijah Woodall scooped it up ran in from 16 yards out to give the Indians a two-score lead in the matter of 14 game seconds.

Unionville’s Aidan Boyle picked off a pass three plays later, and on a fourth-and-one, Dante Graham found pay dirt from 15 yards out.

“We’ve been playing better and better,” Clark said. “Last week we got up and played a little sloppy. I have a lot of respect for what Mike (Means) does and he has skill kids all over the place. We challenged our kids to be responsible for (Oxford’s) run-pass option stuff and I think that lateral was big. It took a lot of air out of them and we were able to keep rolling.”

Oxford’s Brandon DeShields, who led the area with 28 receptions and 528 receiving yards entering the game, was held to just one catch for 13 yards.

“Obviously the kid has been making catches all over,” Clark said of the Hornet star. “We were aware where he was and tried to make them go somewhere else. He’s a playmaker so we tried to limit the explosive plays and that was big for us, too.”

JT Hower added a 24-yard touchdown in the second off a reverse. Jack Adams ran the ball well for the Indians, tacking on 52 yards on eight carries, as Unionville’s weapons proved more potent.

“Coach Clark is always gonna be really, really well-prepared and he was prepared with what we brought to the table,” Means said. “At the end of the day it comes down to blocking and tackling and we didn’t do either very well.”