Oxford grabs first win in shootout over Interboro
OXFORD—The Bucs and Hornets lit up the scoreboard Friday night at Oxford, with the two teams combining for a whopping 125 points. But in the end, as is often times the case, the team who did a better job protecting the football came out ahead. Friday night that was Oxford (1-1), who forced seven turnovers—two fumbles and five interceptions—and turned a tight game into a 78-47 win over visiting Interboro (0-2).
“More than the points, I just really liked the way guys responded and stepped up this week,” said Oxford coach Mike Means. “Guys like Devon Rueda and Kelvin Figueroa, when we watched film, just didn’t look like the kind of players we knew they were capable of being, and tonight they showed what they can do.”
The Bucs led early, scoring the first touchdown of the game when Billy Kyle ran one in from 15 yards out. But the Hornets wasted no time in answering right back, much as they did all night long.
Taking over on their own 31, the Hornets ran just two plays to reach the end zone, capping the quick drive with a 45-yard scoring strike from Tom Repetz to Jaxson Chew (3 catches, 75 yards, 3TD).
Repetz had himself quite a night, completing 13 of .30 passes for 294 yards and seven touchdowns.
“Everyone played great tonight,” said Repetz. “The line was incredible all night in protection and on running plays, the receivers ran great routes and caught everything near them. It just feels great to come back this week and get the ‘W’ the way we did.”
Devon Rueda also had a breakout game for the Hornets, rushing for 131 yards on 18 carries, along with a pair of touchdowns.
“It was really great seeing some kids who struggled a bit last week turn it around and have big games tonight,” said Means. “We aren’t young so much as inexperienced, so it was great to see them adjusting to being under the spotlight on Friday night.”
Interboro then struck again just before the half, converting a 4-and-goal from the eight when Mike Zane connected with Robert Finley for a TD to cut the Oxford lead to 27-21 at the half.
The Bucs did a lot right on the night, especially when it came to running the football. Interboro piled up 259 yards rushing on the night, with three players topping the 50 yard mark in Bubba Phillips (18-86), Finley (4-75), and Robert Forbes (13-54).
Seconds into the fourth, Interboro trailed by just a touchdown when Finley scored on a 58 yard run, but it was the last time they would find the endzone.
“Hopefully we can fix some of these mistakes we made tonight,” said Lennox. “We did do some things well, but we are just making too many mistakes. We simply have to get better, that’s all there is to it.”
The backbreaker came early in the fourth period. Just after the Hornets went up 62-47 on a 50-yard Repetz –to-Chew connection, Oxford DB Joey Morton picked off a pass on the Bucs first play from scrimmage, and returned it 32-yards for the touchdown.
“I saw the tight end crossing and I thought I’d try to jump the route,” said Morton, who also caught five balls for 123 yards and a touchdown. “I had an idea what the quarterback liked to do, and just jumped the route and got the pick. Once it was in my hands I knew I had a clear shot at the end zone.”
The Hornets stopped the next Interboro drive with another interception, and ended the scoring with a Repetz to Morton strike.
“It was a good game, and then we hurt ourselves a few times,” said Interboro coach Steve Lennox. “Look at all those points on the board. I didn’t know you could put that many points on a scoreboard.”
