Oakwood senior Gaven Clouse had a memorable final home game on Friday (Oct. 15).

Clouse scored touchdowns on four of his eight rushing attempts, leading the Comets to a Senior Night victory over Georgetown-Ridge Farm, 47-6.

The home finale also marked the official naming of the field as Marty McFarland Field in recognition of the winningest Oakwood football coach in school history.

“He created a lot of the culture that we still have at Oakwood,” Comets’ coach Al Craig said. “It was good to see where that culture came from.”

Clouse rushed for 97 yards. He scored two first-period touchdowns and a 66-yard run by Dalton Hobick lifted the Comets into a 20-0 lead after one quarter.

Austin McDaniel converted two extra-point kicks in the first frame.

‘We opened the game up and gave the team some confidence,” Craig said. “It was a pretty good team effort.

“In the rain, you need everyone to do that. Our defense was on point, not allowing them to do a whole lot.”

Clouse added his other two TDs in the second quarter. Oakwood headed into the lockerroom with a 32-0 lead and created a running clock in the third period when a 10-yard scoring scamper by Griffin Trees and Hobick’s two-point conversion gave Oakwood a 40-0 advantage.

Trees rushed for 77 yards on three carries.

The team’s final TD was courtesy of the defense. Noah Phillips returned an interception 20 yards for a fourth-quarter TD.

McDaniel had a team-high seven tackles.

The 47 points scored against the Buffaloes were a team-high and the six points allowed were a team-low for the season.

“We started clicking in Week 6 and  have played  pretty well,” Craig said. “We’ve lost some tough games (two consecutive two-point setbacks before the G-RF game).”

Oakwood (2-6) closes its season on Friday (Oct. 22) with a game at Salt Fork (5-3).

“It’s a natural rivalry because we co-op with them in some sports,” Craig said. “It’s always the last game and it always means something.”

For Salt Fork, a sixth win would guarantee a berth in the postseason playoffs. For Oakwood, it’s a chance to close the season with back-to-back wins for the first time this year.

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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.

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The Oakwood Comets scored the game’s first and last touchdowns on Saturday (Sept. 25) in their homecoming game.

Gaven Clouse, who rushed for a team-high 236 yards on 31 carries, opened the scoring in the first quarter, exploding for a 71-yard scoring burst.

He also added the two-point conversion.

Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin scored the next 42 points and emerged with a 42-14 triumph.

“We played well, but they played even better,” Oakwood coach Al Craig said. “We had the lead early and a chance to put them down.”

After the Comets’ first score, Young intercepted a pass, but Oakwood was unable to take advantage.

On the first B-H/R-A scoring down, the Blue Devils needed to convert a third-and-18 play.

Also before halftime, Oakwood moved inside the B-H/R-A 30-yard line, but came up empty.

“We’d get inside the 30, but couldn’t push it in,” Craig said. “We’d have a good drive and then have a false start or somehow find a way to lose yards.”

 Austin McDaniel hauled in a 6-yard scoring strike from Josh Young in the final quarter to complete the scoring in a Vermilion Valley Conference contest.

Clouse had a season’s high for rushing yardage.

“Gaven puts in the time to get those yards,” Craig said. “It was nice to see the offensive line open holes for him.”

Young was 3-for-6, throwing for 27 yards. He has filled in the past two games for the injured Dalton Hobick, who is hoping to play this week.

Oakwood (1-4) returns to action on Friday (Oct. 1) at Westville (4-1). The game will be the first one played on Westville’s turf field at its all-new athletic complex west of the high school.

It will be the Tigers’ first home football game since 2019.

“Westville is a very physical team and it’s always a war when we play them,” Craig said.

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The Comets more than held their own in the first half on Wednesday against unbeaten and state-ranked Bismarck-Henning in a semifinal game of the St. Joseph-Ogden Class 2A boys’ basketball regional tournament.

Oakwood held the lead at halftime 28-25 before falling 62-52.

Josh Young led the Comets with 14 points. Jayden Cox added 10 points. Jackson Powell scored nine points and teammates Elijah Harden and Dalton Hobick finished with seven points apiece.

B-H/R-A (31-0) used a 22-14 third-quarter spurt to take a five-point lead into the final period.

Oakwood hit 7 of 8 free throws.

On Monday, for the third time in four games this season, the Comets topped Vermilion County rival Georgetown-Ridge Farm on the basketball court.

Oakwood prevailed 59-50 in a first-round game of the SJ-O regional.

Young hit a team-high 13 points and was one of four squad members to score in double figures. Cox and Harden each tallied 11 points. Brevin Wells finished with 10 points.

Young was the team’s top scorer in 11 of the final 14 games this season.

G-RF led 14-12 after one quarter, but Oakwood had regained the lead, 30-26, at halftime.

The Comets hit 20 of 29 free throws. G-RF made 7 of 16 free throw attempts.

Oakwood ends with a 17-15 season record.

Young was the team’s top scorer this season in 15 games. Wells set the pace in 13 games. Isiah Ruch led in five games, Powell in three with Kade Anderson and Harden leading in one apiece.

Wells knocked down 71 three-point shots this season, accounting for two-thirds of his 107 field goals. Powell drained 41 three-pointers and Cox netted 24.

Oakwood’s top single-game point totals were 24 by Wells, 23 by Harden and 23 by Young.

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