By Fred Kroner
After allowing three first-quarter touchdowns through the air, Oakwood’s defense settled down and permitted just one more TD, but ultimately fell short at Momence 28-21, in the season-opener on Friday (Aug. 25).
Momence led, 20-0, after one quarter.
Sophomore Cameron Black led the Comets with 128 rushing yards on 25 carries. He scored two TDs on second-half runs of 10 and 20 yards.
The first Oakwood TD of the season came on a 27-yard pass from Jackson Dudley to Alec Harrison. Dudley completed 9 of 23 passes for 113 yards.
Harrison was his primary receiver, hauling in five passes for 72 yards.
Black also converted one two-point conversion, The Comets’ other point was on Jacob Pricer’s conversion kick.
The opening quarter affected the remainder of the game.
“When you’re in a hole, it changes the way you play offense,” Oakwood head coach Cameron Lee said. “Early, we were not out-schemed. We had a lot of young kids who made mental errors and missed tackles.
“Our defense picked it up. We showed heart and good stuff on the field. I was very encouraged. We did a lot well.”
Among the highlights was the play of Dudley and Harrison.
“Jackson did a good job of delivering the ball and having a good presence,” Lee said. “Harrison made some huge catches and anchored the defensive line.
“We had a lot of guys making plays. Black had 100 yards in his first varsity game. For maybe 15 of our guys, this was their first significant varsity action.”
Oakwood (0-1) returns to action on Friday (Sept. 1) at home against Georgetown-Ridge Farm (0-1), which lost its home-opener against Watseka, 27-0.
