By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Sports Writer
 OXFORD — Clarkston Varsity Football took down OAA Red foe the Wildcats last Friday during Oxford’s Homecoming game, 39-13.
The Wildcats took the lead with five minutes to go in the first quarter off a 6-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Jack Hendrix to senior Brody Moore. The PAT from junior Dawson Ballerini was a success to put Oxford up 7-0.
“I don’t want to get down early, but sometimes it’s better to be battle tested and have gone through these things so when you get into the thick of things you are ready for them,” said Justin Pintar, head coach for Clarkston. “I was proud of how we responded. The first possession by Oxford, they moved the ball right down the field on us. We gave them a short field to begin with which isn’t good. We don’t want to do that. They took it right to us and then after that our defense really locked in and was really good for the rest of the football game.”
He added with it being Oxford’s homecoming, they knew the Wildcats would be excited to play.
“We know we are always going to get everyone’s best shot,” Pintar said. “For us to respond, not let that negative get to our head and let the other team take advantage of a quick start that’s important. How you respond to those negatives tells a lot about a team.”
And how Clarkston responded was with 39 points during the second and third quarters.
Thirty seconds into the second quarter, the Wildcats punted the ball after running out of downs and senior Desman Stephens made the catch. He returned the ball to Oxford’s 4-yard line.
On the next play, sophomore quarterback Brady Collins handed the ball to sophomore Lukas Boman, who made the 4-yard touchdown run with 11:18 left in the first half. The PAT from senior Eddie Langton was blocked by Oxford senior Sean Wilson.
Six minutes later, Stephens scored on a 8-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion was no good as the Wolves took the lead, 12-7.
Oxford didn’t hold onto possession for too long as senior Caleb Trigalet intercepted a pass with four minutes left in the first half, putting the Wolves on the 47-yard line.
Two minutes later, Boman scored on a 6-yard touchdown run. A PAT from Langton put the score 19-7, where it stayed for the end of the first half.
The Wolves scored three times in the last seven minutes in the third quarter starting with a 23-yard touchdown run from Collins, 25-7.
Clarkston recovered a fumble with 5:47 left in the quarter. Two minutes later, Stephens scored on a 37-yard touchdown run. A PAT from Langton put the Wolves up, 32-7.
Junior Brady Beck intercepted Oxford’s pass and returned it for a touchdown for Clarkston. The Wolves moved up 39-7 after a PAT from Langton.
The Wildcats closed the night scoring on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Hendrix to junior Drew Cady. Oxford attempted a 2-point conversion and the pass was blocked by Beck.
Pintar added Stephens, Collins, Kosin and Boman had a good night.
“Des is just a special player,” said Pintar. “He changes the game. Every team we play we know their game plan is to try to stop him. We try to figure out different ways to give him the football. We did that today -we got the ball in his hands a little bit differently than we have before. We are just going to keep doing that. He is just a special football player. The more times we can get him the football, the better.
“We missed a few throws early, but Brady Collins settled in,” he continued. “Brody had some nice catches. We spread the ball a little bit and got Lukas Boman some carries today. We were able to do a lot of different things today offensively besides with Des which is important. We know teams are going to key on stopping him. So we are going to try to give him the football, but we are going to have to have guys who can do stuff for us as well.”
With a 32-point lead going into the final quarter, Clarkston brought more players into the game to give them more time on the field.
“That’s something that’s really difficult to do in our league because it’s such a battle week in and week out,” Pintar said. “Oxford for years have always played us super tough. It’s never been a game we come up here and have the opportunity to really do that. It was great to get those guys in – we haven’t had a chance to do that this season because every game we have played so far has been down to the wire. It was a nice opportunity for us to play everybody. It’s hard because those guys compete all week long – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday – and then they don’t get the chance to see the field very often on Friday. Any time we can I love that we can do that. I love when we can do that.
Clarkston (3-2, 3-0 OAA Red) is home for the next three weeks. They host West Bloomfield (4-1, 2-1) this Friday and Lake Orion (5-0, 3-0) on Friday, Oct. 6.
“We have a big one (against West Bloomfield) and the week after that and the week after that,” Pintar said. “There has been progress week after week. It hasn’t always been pretty. They are starting to believe in themselves more and figure it out. Thats what we are looking to do just keep getting better and keep going.”
Kick off is at 7 p.m. Clarkston High School Stadium.