By Fred Kroner
Oakwood came up short on Friday (Oct. 1) in a historic high school football game in Vermilion County.
The Comets dropped a 14-12 decision at Westville in the first game played in Vermilion County on artificial turf. For Westville, it was the first home game since October, 2019. The school’s athletic complex was recently refurbished.
“The field is great, the atmosphere is fantastic and the game lived up to the hype,” Oakwood coach Al Craig said. “We came out on the short end, but we tell them to just keep battling.”
The Comets pulled within 7-6 in the second quarter when Dalton Hobick – who returned from an injury that had sidelined him the previous two games – hooked up with Josh Young on an 85-yard scoring play.
Westville moved its lead to 14-6 at halftime and was scoreless the last two periods.
“As a whole, our defense played well,” Oakwood coach Al Craig said. “Our kids played hard and stuck to the game plan.”
The game was the second since the Comets’ staff shifted Gaven Clouse and Austin McDaniel into the linebacker positions.
The lone second-half TD on a 3-yard run by Hobick in the third quarter.
Hobick completed 9 of 17 passes for 185 yards. Young had four of the receptions and turned them into gains of 125 yards.
Defensively, Griffin Trees had a team-high eight tackles, followed by Clouse with seven tackles.
Oakwood (1-5) returns to action on Friday (Oct. 8) against Hoopeston Area in a game that will mark the formal dedication of the Comets home site as Marty McFarland Field.
“Marty put in a lot of time and is very deserving of this honor,” Craig said.
Besides the two-point setback at Westville, Oakwood also suffered a one-point loss to Iroquois West.
