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 dropped a heartbreaking 33-32 loss in overtime to unbeaten Iroquois West in their home-opener on Friday (Sept. 3).

Iroquois West nailed a 42-yard field goal with 16 seconds to play in regulation to force the extra session.

Dalton Hobick scored his second touchdown for Oakwood in OT, but the Comets were unable to make the two-point conversion.

The Raiders scored on a pass play and then nailed the extra-point placement to salvage the one-point triumph.

“It was a heck of a high school game, but we came up short,” Oakwood coach Al Craig said. “Iroquois West made big plays when they needed them most.”

Hobick completed 10 of 13 passes for 159 yards. He fired second-half scoring strikes of 6 and 28 yards to Josh Young, who caught seven passes for 109 yards.

Gaven Clouse was the top Oakwood rusher, gaining 77 yards on 12 carries. Clouse scored a fourth-quarter TD on a 17-yard run.

Hobick’s 48-yard scoring romp in the second quarter was the team’s longest scoring play. It also accounted for Oakwood’s only points before halftime.

“We got better as the game went on,” Craig said. “Basically it was Week 1 for us (because 16 players sat out the opener due to COVID-19 tracing).

“We only had two starters play the week before and one of them was out of position.

“We hoped to get momentum going in the second half, and we broke out and built an 11-point lead. I was impressed with how they battled and handled adversity. We missed two weeks of practice and our conditioning was not the best.”

The Comets scored five TDs, but only made one conversion try, a run by Hobick in the second half.

Austin McDaniel led Oakwood defensively with 10 tackles.

Oakwood (0-2) returns to action on Friday (Sept. 10) against Clifton Central.

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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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The Comets fell behind by 15 points at halftime on Friday at Schlarman Academy, and suffered a 67-59 Vermilion Valley Conference setback.

For the first time this season, Oakwood had five double-figure scorers in the same game.

Brevin Wells and Josh Young each netted 12 points. Jaydon Cox hit for 11 points while Elijah Harden and Jackson Powell tallied 10 points apiece.

Schlarman led 17-11 after one quarter and 36-21 at halftime.

Oakwood (16-14) returns to action Monday in the fourth meeting with rival Georgetown-Ridge Farm in the 7 p.m. first-round Class 2A regional game at St. Joseph.

Oakwood leads in the season series 2-1.

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The Comets assured themselves of an above-.500 season on Tuesday by overpowering visiting Georgetown-Ridge Farm 63-36 on Senior Night at Fithian.

Oakwood, which has a four-game winning streak, led 34-28 at halftime and then allowed the Buffaloes just eight more points thereafter.

Josh Young scored nine of his team-high 22 points in the first period as the Comets spurted into a 19-13 lead.

Elijah Harden tallied 10 of his 16 points during an 18-0 third-quarter run.

Brevin Wells scored nine points and Kade Anderson added seven points for Oakwood.

Anderson, Harden and Jayden Cox were the seniors who played in their final home contest.

Oakwood (16-13) returns to action on Friday in its regular-season finale at Danville Schlarman Academy.  The Comets are 9-3 in Vermilion Valley Conference games.

Oakwood and G-RF will play for the fourth time this season on Monday at 7 p.m. in a first-round Class 2A regional game at St. Joseph.

Oakwood won the first meeting in three overtimes, but G-RF captured the second game by 12 points. Friday’s win gave the Comets a 2-1 lead in the season series.

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Senior Elijah Harden scored a season-high 23 points – 12 in the fourth quarter – on Friday as Oakwood held off Westville 70-55 on the Tigers’ court.

The Comets built a 33-16 halftime lead, but Westville cut its deficit to 42-35 entering the final period.

Harden’s previous high game this season was 11 points. He was supported by Josh Young (18 points) and Brevin Wells (10 points).

The Comets (15-13) return to action on Tuesday in their Senior Night game at Oakwood against Georgetown-Ridge Farm. The Comets are 8-3 in VVC contests.

The Comets have a three-game winning streak.

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For the second time in five days, the Comets were victorious in an overtime game when they topped visiting Chrisman 69-64 in a Vermilion Valley Conference game at home.

The teams were tied 58-58 after regulation. Chrisman’s only points in OT were on three-pointers.

The Comets nailed 5 of 6 free throws in the extra session to pull away. Kade Anderson and Josh Young each tallied four points in OT and Brevin Wells contributed three points, all from the foul line.

Overall, Oakwood made 12 of 17 free throws.

Chrisman led 35-32 at halftime.

Young hit the 20-point mark for the fourth time in his last five games, tallying 22 points. Wells chipped in with 15 points and Anderson totaled 10.

Oakwood (14-13) returns to action on Friday at Westville. The Comets are 7-3 in VVC contests.

The Comets are trying to extend their streak of consecutive winning seasons in boys’ basketball to six.

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The Comets remained unbeaten in overtime games this season, using the four extra minutes on Friday to win at Salt Fork, 66-62.

Oakwood is 3-0 for the season in overtime games.

Isiah Ruch and Josh Young each netted four points in OT as the Comets outscored the Storm, 10-6. Salt Fork’s points in OT were on two three-point baskets.

Young finished with a game-high 21 points. Ruch totaled 14 points. Jackson Powell nailed three three-point shots and added 12 points.

Oakwood (13-13) returns to action on Tuesday at home against Chrisman.

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The Comets couldn’t hang onto a lead they held after each of the first three quarters on Tuesday and suffered a 57-53 Vermilion Valley Conference loss at Hoopeston Area.

Josh Young led Oakwood with 20 points. Jayden Cox hit 10 points and teammates Elijah Harden and Isiah Ruch both totaled eight points.

Oakwood led 18-11 after one period, 26-25 at halftime and 37-34 after three quarters.

Young had 10 of his points in the fourth quarter.

The Comets attempted just four free throws overall and they all came in the final stanza.

Oakwood (12-13) returns to action on Friday at Salt Fork.

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