Oakwood Football picks up playoff win after 31 years, Davis’ cross country season come to end
BY FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
Oakwood football
There has not been a change in offensive philosophy within the Oakwood football program.
The Comets are a run-first team which boasts two players with more than 800 yards rushing for the season.
And yet, on Friday when the school ended a 31-year streak without a postseason football victory, both of the team’s first-half touchdowns were on passes from quarterback Rhett Harrison.
It turned out they were the only passes he completed in Oakwood’s 20-0 shutout over Nokomis, a win that will move the team into the second round in Class 2A and a Saturday, Nov. 9 date at Pana.
The kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Pana (9-1), tied for eighth in the final state rankings, opened the postseason with a 46-12 win over Red Bud. Pana’s offense is averaging nearly 44 points per game.
The 12-game postseason losing streak was a burden that Oakwood coach Al Craig was happy to shed.
“We wanted to get the monkey off our back,” he said. “It was getting heavier each year.”
Harrison helped that happen. He hooked up with Gaven Clouse on a 20-yard scoring strike in the final 90 seconds of the first period and, before halftime arrived, connected with Colby Smiley on a 66-yard scoring play.
“We don’t throw a ton,” Craig said, “but we’re looking to score when we do throw.”
For the year, Harrison is attempting less than 2 passes per quarter. His 10-game stats show 40 completions in 72 attempts.
More than one-third of his completions have gone for TDs. He has thrown 15 TD passes. He is closing in on 1,000 passing yards and needs 18 more to reach that plateau.
Clouse added a third-quarter score on an 8-yard run. Caleb Lashuay converted two conversion kicks to account for the remainder of the Comets’ point total.
The shutout was the third of the season for Oakwood (8-2).
“We tell the kids there might be a game we struggle on offense, but the defense needs to be consistent,” Craig said.
That defense limited Nokomis (7-3) to 109 yards of total offense in the first-round game.
Linebackers Smiley and Elijah Harden led the way with 14 and 10 tackles, respectively.
The offense continues to be led by a trio of backs – Clouse, Smiley and Jack Carey – who collectively have accounted for 2,175 yards rushing and 24 TDs on the ground as well as another 511 receiving yards and eight touchdowns through the air.
Clouse started the season playing JV ball, but was pressed into varsity duty when Smiley was sidelined.
“Three weeks in a row, he had 150 or more yards,” Craig said. “We didn’t understand what we had until we saw him in action.”
Clouse adds the dimension of elusiveness to go with the existing power attack.
“I’ve been super-lucky,” Craig said, “to have loaded backfields both of my years as coach.”
Against Nokomis, Clouse rushed for 83 yards and Smiley gained 71.
The Comets’ second-round game will be a rematch from 2018 when Pana rallied in the final quarter to hand Oakwood a 28-21 loss.
“We had Pana down, but couldn’t close it out,” Craig said.
The coach said his squad “looks forward to,” not only the next opponent, but also a road trip to the same location as where the 2018 season ended.
“We can’t say enough good things about the hospitality we received last year,” Craig said. “There’s a lot of love and respect from the Comets.”
Now that Oakwood has ended one lengthy drought, it can start work on another. With one more victory, the Comets can tie the single-season school record for wins (nine), set by the 1983 team and matched by the 1988 squad.
The Comets have a three-game winning streak and have won eight of their last nine games. Oakwood was tied for 13th in the final Class 2A state poll.
Oakwood Girls’ Cross-Country
Senior Grace Davis ended her season in Saturday’s Effingham St. Anthony Class 1A Sectional. She placed 84th.
Davis’ 3-mile time was 23 minutes, 18.53 seconds.
There were 136 competitors in the event.
