Will host Chippewa Valley this Friday

By Dean Vaglia
Leader Staff Writer
The Oxford High School Wildcats pulled off their third win in a row — their first home win of the season against the Rochester High School Falcons last Friday. The win pushes Oxford’s record to 4-4 overall, and 3-2 in the Oakland Athletic Assocation’s Red division.
In a first half with many ups and downs — from John Asciutto’s somersault touchdown to Brady Carpenter’s sack-avoiding pick-six — the Wildcats came out strong in the second half, keeping the Falcons in place while adding to their lead. By the end of play Oxford gave the home crowd their long-awaited 33-14 win.
“I thought we started a little slow, but in the second half I thought our guys did a good job responding at halftime,” Zach Line, Oxford head coach, said. “I think everybody did their job at a high level. Obviously, it was a big win for us.”
Line had high praise for the offensive and defensive lines on Monday, making note of Salvino Vackaro’s 256 rushing yards.
Coming into the last week of the regular MHSAA season, the Wildcats face off against the Chippewa Valley Big Reds of Clinton Township. A Macomb Area team, the Big Reds went 3-2 in league play and 6-2 overall, recently beating the Utica Chieftains 49-21.
“Chippewa is a good team,” Line said. “If you watch their film, they’re fast; they’re athletic. They play in a good conference like we do, so I think it will be a good matchup between two good teams. Like we always do, we’ll have our plan for them and be ready to go on Friday.”
Though the regular season may be coming to an end, the MHSAA Division 1 playoffs might not be too far off. With the governing body using a new points system, Oxford currently sits as the 27th ranked team with 58.500 playoff points — currently within the 32-team cutoff. The 288 qualifiers for the playoffs will be announced at 5:30 p.m. Sunday on the Bally Sports Detroit channel.
The ‘Cats’ fortunes may change by press time next week, but the only way to know for sure is to be there Friday night at the Wildcat Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the door and online at https://gofan.co/app/school/MI10050.