Oxford sparked by defense, special teams

Evening Sun Report

Oxford 33, Deposit 6

DEPOSIT – Opportunistic defense and special teams gave Oxford more than enough points against Deposit Saturday afternoon in a contest that was up for grabs until the final quarter.

The Blackhawks scored two defensive touchdowns and blocked a punt that scored more points. “We were really happy with the play of the defense,” said Oxford coach John Curtis, whose club did not allow an offensive touchdown and held the Lumberjacks (2-2) to 114 yards of total offense. “This was a big division win. A loss and we would have started 0-2 in the division.”

Deposit closed to within 7-6 scoring on the opening kickoff of the second half. Tyler Vandermark returned the boot 88 yards to set the stage for a series of defensive/special teams points.

Following a defensive stop of Oxford, Deposit fumbled the ensuing punt, and Jeff Champlin returned it 35 yards to put Oxford in front 14-6. Early in the fourth, John Witchella returned an interception 35 yards for a score, and Dustin Christophersen blocked a punt in the end zone, and Kyle Smith recovered it adding points to the ledger. Scott Shackleton capped his 113-yard rushing day scoring on a 46-yard run. In the first quarter, Shackleton hauled in Steve Locke’s three-yard score for the early advantage.

Oxford (1-1, 2-2) plays at Newfield (1-0, 3-1) Saturday.

Football Summary

O D

First downs 9 5

Rushes-yds 32-188 29-86

Passing yds 33 28

Comp-att-int 5-14-1 3-15-3

Punts-avg 1-48 6-34

Fumbles-lost 1-1 11

Penalties-yds 7-35 3-20

Individual statistics

Rushing: (O) S. Shackleton, 17-113; E. Betts, 4-31; S. Locke, 4-24; T. Nelson, 4-11; P. Wade, 1-8; I. Grundner, 1-0; Dustin Christophersen, 1-1. (D) C. Andresen, 12-31; B. Hauber, 7-23; M. Mason, 4-25; T. Vandermark, 3-4; Z .Matthews, 2-3; D. Singleton, 1-0.

Passing: (O) S. Locke, 5-14-1, 33 yds, TD. (D) B. Hauber, 3-15-3, 28 yds.

Receiving: (O) B. Burdick, 2-12, J. Witchella, 2-19; S. Shackleton, 1-2. (D) B. Winans, 2-20; T. Vandermark, 1-8.

Score by quarters

Oxf. 0 7 7 19–33

Dep. 0 0 6 0–6

Scoring Summary

O: Shackleton 3 pass from Locke (Jake Vincent kick)

D: Vandermark 88 kickoff return (kick failed)

O: Jeff Champlin 35 fumble recovery (Vincent kick)

O: Hugh Witchella 35 interception return (kick failed)

O: Kyle Smith blocked punt recovery in endzone (kick failed)

O: Shackleton 46 run (Vincent kick)

Windsor 40, Norwich 0

WINDSOR – The Black Knights’ offense was “Good,” and the defense was even better in a blowout/shutout of the Purple Tornado Saturday afternoon.

Senior quarterback Adam Good threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for a touchdown to lead Windsor, whose defense recorded its third shutout in four games. The Black Knights have not allowed a point since the first half of its opening-game win this season. “We just did not come into this game mentally prepared to play 48 minutes, and I take responsibility for that,” said Norwich head coach John Pluta. “We had some penalties and five turnovers, and those are mental parts of the game we have to improve on.”

Locked in a scoreless tie, Windsor solved Norwich’s defense in the second quarter putting up a pair of touchdowns. Good connected with Steve DeMarco on a 49-yard scoring pass, and just before halftime, 225-pound fullback, Bryant Parker, scored on four-yard run. “We played tough defense for about 1 3?4 of a half, then they had a couple big plays they broke on us,” Pluta said.

Windsor scored on each of its four second-half possessions, while not allowing Norwich to sustain any drives. Good scored on the opening drive of the half on a 2-yard keeper, then found Cody Whitman on a medium-range pass that went 70 yards for the score. Windsor finished with 360 yards of offense and limited the prolific Tornado ground game to just 64 yards. “We were pretty solid against their running game, but after our turnovers, they went up top (passing), and that is something we know they like to do,” Pluta said. “They hurt us with that. They simply executed better than us today and whipped us up pretty good.”

Norwich (1-1, 2-2) hosts Maine-Endwell (2-2) Friday night.

JV notes: Windsor handed the Tornado junior varsity its second defeat, 23-14 Saturday. Eric Owen had a TD run and Tim Clark threw a TD pass to David Carson in the NHS defeat.

Football Summary

N W

First downs 6 10

Rushes-yds 37-64 34-141

Passing yds 93 219

Comp-att-int 6-13-3 6-11-1

Punts-avg 2-37.5 2-25

Fumbles-lost 4-2 0-0

Penalties-yds 10-48 7-40

Individual Statistics

Rushing: (N) B. Ryan, 6-19; J. Prosser, 3-15; C. Mattingly, 10-9. R. Martin, 8-12; N. Foote, 7-4; V. Labor, 1-4; A. Bazarnik, 1-2. (W) B. Parker, 12-51; C. Whitman, 9-39; T. Costello, 1-36; B. Whetsell, 5-16; M. DePersis, 4-8; A. Good, 3-(-9).