The Oxford Wolverines continued their unbeaten run after taking care of Stratford 34 – 12 Saturday afternoon.
The Wolverines (3 – 0) were led by junior quarterback Alex Miller, who scored four touchdowns in yet another impressive showing.
Oxford head coach Joe Stochmal sounded concerned about the Red Devils after last week, but was quite happy with his team’s response against them today.
“[Stratford] is a very athletic team, and when you play an athletic team, they are always dangerous,” he said.
Stratford (2 – 1) couldn’t get much going on offense over the course of the game.
Oxford opened scoring on their first possession when Miller hit Justin Lasto with 7:58 to go in the first quarter. The Red Devils attempted to respond, but quarterback Markey Desruisseaux was intercepted by Miller, who ran it back 55 yards for a touchdown.
“We thought turnovers were going to play a major part in this game, and it did,” Stochmal said. “We forced more turnovers than they did, and that was the difference in the game.”
Another Red Devils opportunity to answer back occurred when running back Aaron Ball ran 74 yards to the Oxford 14-yard line. Stratford were unable to capitalize, missing a 30-yard field goal toward the end of the first quarter.
Oxford continued to roll as the game went on. Miller hit team captain Nick Donofrio for an 18-yard touchdown with 8:16 left in the first half. The extra point was blocked, but the Wolverines would take a 20 – 0 lead into the half.
The Wolverines special teams game was incredible, pinning Stratford inside of their own 10- yard line twice in the first half.
“Our special teams [played a big part]. We were able to pin them into a corner and give them a long field to play with,” Stochmal said. “We felt we could do a couple of things with [Stratford], we were a little bit surprised to see that we had as much success as we did. We have a pretty good football team, and I think our kids are starting to believe it too.”
In the third quarter, it looked like the wheels were beginning to come off for Stratford, as they fumbled the opening kickoff. But it wouldn’t be long before the Red Devils came to life.
An impressive10-yard touchdown by Desruisseaux was set up by a 65-yard run by Brandon Ramos off of a reverse. The extra point went wide, and the Red Devils would trail 20 – 6. Desruisseaux was nearly sacked on the play, but shook off multiple tacklers and ran to the opposite side of the field to get Stratford on the board.
The momentum looked like it was tipping in Stratford’s favor after Donofrio fumbled at midfield with 5:23 left in the third, but Miller would be the defense’s savior for the second time on the day, recovering a fumble and returning it 68 yards for a touchdown.
Oxford would cap off their scoring late in the third, when Donofrio scored on a four-yard run, bringing the score to 34 – 6.
The Wolverines’ season motto is “Raise the Bar,” after the team went 5 – 5 last season. They are only two wins away from matching last year’s record, but Stochmal is still planning game by game.
“We are still not there,” Stochmal said. “We have three wins, but we still need another three to raise that bar. We are taking it one game at a time, and we have a very difficult opponent next week against Newtown. We are looking forward to the matchup. They are calling it a signature game, and if we come out with a win, we will consider ourselves a team to be reckoned with.”
Desruisseaux would add a consolation touchdown, as he hit wideout Christian Peabody for an 11-yard touchdown as time expired.
Oxford will play Newtown at home next Saturday, at 3 p.m.
