Oxford’s quest for the Flint Metro League championship hit a bump last week when the Wildcats were upset at Lapeer West, 20-14.
The loss left the Cats at 1-1 in the league while Linden is undefeated at 3-0 and West is 2-0. Oxford will host Linden on October 10 and is in a must-win situation for each of its remaining four league games. Lapeer East will visit Oxford this Friday at 7:30 p.m.
West put together its best game of the season to stop Oxford. The Panthers scored on the opening drive of the game, marching 80 yards.
West’s Jim Collins set the tone for the Panthers’ ground game with a 53-yard run down to Oxford’s 17. Collins finished with 178 yards rushing and West had 339 yards in offense.
Quarterback Nick Norman completed a 17-yard pass to Jordan Berry for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead for West with 10:01 left in the quarter.
The Wildcats came roaring back with two touchdowns on their next two possessions. Oxford marched easily down the field on their opening possession with Andrew Darin running the final four yards.
After stopping the Panthers and getting the ball back on a punt on the West 46, the Wildcats wasted little time in scoring again. Quarterback Kyle Rowley threw a 31-yard TD to David Reile.
Reile caught the ball on the 19 and ran the distance untouched. Eddie Summers kicked the second of his extra points and the Cats appeared to be in control at 14-7 with 1:29 left in the opening quarter.
It seemed as though each time the Cats were moving the ball, a penalty would stop a drive. Oxford was flagged for seven penalties and two others were d
The Panthers managed to claw back and tie the game at 14-14 with four minutes left before halftime.
West could have had a halftime lead but an attempted 23-yard field goal went wide at the seven minute mark.
The Wildcats put together a sustained drive midway through the third quarter, starting from their own 34. Rowley drove the Cats down to the 14 yard line but his pass into the endzone was intercepted when Reile slipped and fell.
West put together its winning touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. The big play on the drive was a 46-yard pass that gave the Panthers the ball on Oxford’s 12. Collins subsequently scored on a two yard run with 1:41 left. West missed the two-point conversion and held a 20-14 lead.
The Wildcats appeared poised to come back but a halfback option pass was intercepted by West’s Don McDonald with only 32 seconds left.
Rowley finished with 6-of-13 passing for 93 yards. The Wildcats had three interceptions which hindered their offense.