By Fred Kroner
At some point, Cameron Lee’s career record as a head football coach will be lower than 100 percent.
After the first week, however, the first-year Oakwood High School coach has his team sitting at a 1-0 record following a season-opening 26-20 victory at home on Saturday (Aug. 27) over Momence.
“It feels good, like a big relief,” Lee said. “It has been a while since we won our Week 1 matchup.
“We preach that we’re setting a new tone and new standards. This was a huge step in the right direction.”
As for himself, Lee had some sleepless nights leading up to his coaching debut.
“But,” he said, “that was more from having a 1-month-old son than from football.
“I don’t get too nervous (about games). I’m always of the mindset that if you do the work in advance, there’s nothing to worry about when the game comes.”
After Momence reached the end zone in the first 2 minutes of the final period, Oakwood’s lead was reduced to 14-12.
Comets quarterback Dalton Hobick then scored two touchdowns within 17 seconds of one another and Oakwood was in command, 26-12, with 9 minutes remaining.
His first score came on a 23-yard run. He followed that up with a 45-yard interception return less than a half-minute later.
“We’re fortunate to have a guy like that on our side,” Lee said. “Having a guy like Dalton is a huge luxury. You always have an X-factor when things break down.”
Hobick completed 10 of 19 passes for 144 yards. He also added 72 yards rushing. One of his completions was a 6-yard scoring strike to Alec Harrison.
“Our passing attack was great and our protection was great,” Lee said.
Oakwood’s ground game also featured 50 yards from Tanner Pichon and 43 from Luke Wallace. Conner Moss scored the game’s first TD – which lifted the Comets into a lead they never lost – on a 10-yard jaunt at 5:52 of the first quarter.
His conversion kick gave Oakwood a 7-0 advantage.
Oakwood (1-0) returns to action on Friday (Sept. 2) against Iroquois West (1-0) in Gilman.
“I’m never going to be to upset if we pull out a victory, but there’s a lot we need to improve upon,” Lee said. “I’m very happy with the way our team fought.”
Lee said it’s not just the players who need to make improvements.
“I learned stuff I need to be better about,” he said.
The coach lauded the defensive effort.
“When the offense was struggling to get the ball rolling, knowing the defense pitched a shutout in the first half was huge,” Lee said.
Momence didn’t get on the board until 7:53 of the third quarter.
On an afternoon with the temperatures reaching the upper 80s, substitutions were a necessity.
“We had to call in the troops,” Lee said. “Different people cycled in.
“The whole team banded together. We know we have guys we can plug (in) and play and make things work.”
