FOOTBALL: Rejuvinated Oxford becomes Stoney Creek’s Night’Myre’
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
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OXFORD — Practices over the past week were not pleasant at Oxford. Not by any stretch of the word.
Veteran Wildcats coach Bud Rowley felt his team’s 17-8 setback to Rochester Adams in Week 5 was unacceptable in terms of effort.
Oxford came back rejuvenated with perhaps its best first quarter in years Friday night.
Trent Myre took the second play from scrimmage and raced 61 yards for pay dirt to set the tone only 56 seconds into Friday’s contest. The Wildcats poured on 28 points in the first quarter and scored on their first five possessions of the contest en route to a convincing 42-6 triumph over host Rochester Stoney Creek, spoiling the Cougars’ homecoming.
“It was an up-and-down week of practice. It wasn’t easy by a long shot,” smirked Rowley. “I wasn’t pleased with our effort last week (against Rochester Adams) at all. We were not good. But we busted our butts this week in practice and I didn’t have (to motivate them). They came out and played hard to start this game.”
The Wildcats quickly turned the game into a track meet.
Myre (three carries, 64 yards), Caleb Tabert (four carries, 68 yards), Drew Carpenter (three carries, 70 yards), Matthew Pullman (three carries, 63 yards) and Brennan Mielnicki (10 carries, 61 yards) all got into the act, as Oxford rolled up 272 yards of offense in the first half alone, good for a 35-point advantage at the break.
Oxford (4-2) held a 376-157 edge in total offense for the game and played the entire second half with a running clock.
At 4-2 and with games coming up with state-ranked Clarkston, and sub-five-hundred Bloomfield Hills and Troy Athens, Oxford sits in a position to still reach six wins and make the postseason.
“We’re right where we need to be,” added Rowley. “We’re still in a good (position).”
Stoney Creek (1-5) suffered its first straight loss. The Cougars only returned three starters from last year and suffered a blow when fourth-year starting quarterback Frank Potenza left the game in the first quarter with an injury.
Stone Creek spoiled the shutout with 5:46 remaining when sophomore backup QB Cam’ron Buford hit Collin Both with a 3-yard scoring toss — showcasing a never-give-up attitude by a team loaded with sophomores.
“We had a mass exit last year and we’re really young. We played a ton of sophomores,” said first-year Stoney Creek coach Nick Merlo. “But we’re getting better. It might not show because of the scores, but we are getting better each week. It will just take some time with the schedule we play. We’re trying to change the culture here and that will take some time.”
Oxford’s Tabert scored on a 37-yard scamper around left, and Myre’s 2-point conversion run upped the lead to 14-0 just 5:13 into the contest.
Forcing Stoney Creek to punt on its next possession, Oxford countered again for a 21-0 lead when Pullman scored on a 19-yard TD run with 4:19 still to go in the opening frame.
Mielnicki scored on a 2-yard run 1:47 to go in the first stanza, then scored again on a 1-yard plunge with 9:37 remaining in the half for a commanding 35-0 lead.
Oxford scored on its seventh possession of the game, this time with Pullman scoring on a 33-yard dash midway through the third quarter for its. 42-0 lead.
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