Oxford barrels over Stoney Creek
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
OXFORD — As a freshman on varsity, Glacier Wallington didn’t expect to play much this season, especially at quarterback. But with starter Vito Giannola going down with a season-ending knee injury during a Week 3, 32-31 loss to Farmington, Wallington was thrust into action.
After dropping a 32-7 game to top-ranked Farmington Harrison last week, the talented ninth-grade prospect gained his second start and his first win of his short-lived career Friday, leading the Wildcats to a 42-6 OAA White Division victory over visiting Rochester Stoney Creek in front of a large homecoming crowd.
AROUND LEFT: Oxford 's Matt Economou tries to escape the arms of Rochester Stoney Creek's Brandon Arduino during Friday's OAA White Division clash. Photo by Kirk Bearse | CatsDenPhoto, www.catsdenphoto.com
Under the protection of a talented offensive line, anchored by Central Michigan-bound Collin Goetz, and playing alongside senior Prescott Line, who is emerging as one of the state’s premier running backs, Wallington had ample time to maneuver and direct under center. He finished with 94 yards on nine carries with one rushing touchdown and was 4-for-8 passing for 39 yards.
“This is more of a team effort. I know I can’t fill Vito’s spot, as a senior quarterback. I’ll do my best and see what I can do,” smiled the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Wallington, also an accomplished track and field athlete.
“(Prescott Line) is an amazing player,” continued Wallington. “We have plenty of time back there to do our rollout and move the ball. We have (lineman) Collin Goetz, he’s a Division I (college player) and an amazing offensive line guy.”
If the postseason is a possibility, then Oxford had to turn the tables Friday and stop the bleeding of a two-game losing streak. The Wildcats did that with relative ease against the injury-riddled Cougars.
Line, who came into the game averaging 3.5 touchdowns a game with 14 total TDs to his credit, tacked on five more scores. He finished with 21 rushes for 248 yards and scored on runs of 6, 39, 16, 65 and 54 yards to give him an area-best 19 rushing scores on the year in five games. He also has 1,163 total yards in five games.
“Prescott has been amazing all season long,” said Oxford coach Bud Rowley. “He’s our go-to guy.”
Last year, Stoney Creek defeated Oxford, 14-7, but this year’s reversal saw Oxford chalk up 385 yards of total offense in a game where there was a running clock for most of the second half.
“Last year we had a lot of injuries and they played a really nice game and got us,” said Rowley. “It wasn’t like there was any type of revenge factor. We just wanted to come out and play well. It was homecoming. We’re moving in the right direction. Everything fell into place tonight. That’s a good thing.”
Oxford (3-2, 2-2) failed to score on its opening drive, but couldn’t be contained for long, outgaining the Cougars 257-103 in the first half in building a 28-0 advantage.
Rowley is pleasantly surprised in the play of Wallington, who started the year as a defensive back.
LOOKING FOR SPACE: Oxford freshman quarterback Glacier Wallington rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats' 42-6 victory Friday over Rochester Stoney Creek. Photo By Kirk Bearse | CatsDenPhoto, www.catsdenphoto.com
“He’s coming (along),” said Rowley of Wallington. “He’s a god football player, an athlete and he’s competitor. And that’s very important. He competes on every play.”
After Zack Hadorn recovered a fumble on the Stoney Creek 12, Line got the Wildcats rolling with a 6-yard plunge with 5:31 left in the first quarter. That simply opened the floodgates.
Wellington exploded for a 65-yard TD sprint with 10:32 to go in the second, displaying exceptional speed for a ninth-grader by breaking a tackle near the line of scrimmage and racing for paydirt and a 14-0 lead.
Line, who led the Wildcats with 17 tackles, struck again two more times in the second quarter and added a pair of long touchdowns runs in the second half. After his runs of 39 and 16 yards in the second frame, both where he broke multiple tackles, Line showcased his increased speed by blazing a trail for his 65- and 54-yard sprints, which featured two of his four touches in the second half.
Stoeny Creek coach Calvin Gross is a believer in Line, who has done nothing but make the statement of being one of the state’s best carrying the football this season.
“He’s awesome,” conceded Gross. “The thing about him is he doesn’t come down by one, two, three guys. He keeps going. He’s strong, fast, he’s got power. We have very good running backs in our league and I’d say he’s the best of them all. He’s a tough guy to bring down and our game plan was to try to try to stop him and make some other kids beat us.”
Stoney Creek finally spoiled the shutout sophomore Sean Scullen raced 76 yards down the near sideline 76 yards. It was his only carry of the night.
The Cougars (1-4, 0-4) marched their third drive of the night down to the Wildcats’ 4, but failed to punch it in and turned the ball over on downs. Stoney Creek, which had nine players out with injuries, including several starters, only collected 200 rushing yards in the game and 267 yards of total offense.
“Our senior class, they are good leaders. They are very intelligent. But we do play in a very tough league and we have a lot of injuries,” offered Gross. “They’re struggling out there with a lot of injuries. But they are working hard. You saw, as a reflection at the end of the game, we had a lot of guys get out there and (gain) some playing time and we were eventually able to score. They didn’t give up.”
Brandon Arduino finished with 52 yards on 11 carries and Areeya Forouzandeh added 38 yards on six rushes for Stoney Creek.
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Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Oxford, Prep Wraps, Rochester Stoney Creek
