By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
OXFORD TWP. — It did not take the Wildcats varsity football team long to establish themselves in their home opener on Friday, putting six points on the scoreboard less than five minutes into the game against the Harper Woods Pioneers.
That’s all Oxford would need on their way to a 38-0 rout in the non-conference game.
Oxford took over on the Harper Woods 26-yard line with 9:27 to play in the first quarter after the Pioneers botched a punt attempt.
Wildcat quarterback Jack Hendrix then threw a pass to senior Dean Rice, who was tackled at the 6-yard line.
Two plays later, Hendrix swept to the outside and into the endzone, giving the Wildcats the 6-0 lead at 7:42. The point after touchdown was good, putting Oxford up by 7.
Oxford junior Seth Tabert then intercepted a Harper Wood’s pass 21 seconds later to give the Wildcats the ball back. Senior running back Luke Johnson then powered into the endzone with 3:22 left in the first quarter to put Oxford up 13-0. The PAT was good, giving Oxford the 14-0 lead.
Oxford’s Cayden Cole-McLellan then picked off another Harper Woods pass with 1:33 left in the first, giving the Wildcats possession on the Harper Woods 49-yard line.
A few plays later, Hendrix completed a pass to Rice who rushed for the endzone, powering his way past the Pioneer defense and into the endzone for another touchdown. After the extra point, Oxford took a 21-0 lead with 28.4 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Wildcats survived a Harper Woods scoring opportunity at 7:39 of the second quarter when defenders Dean Rice and Brendan Cass stopped the Pioneer’s running back from scoring on a fourth-and-one play.
A false start at the line pushed the Pioneers back to the 6-yard line and the Wildcat defense held up, forcing Harper Woods to turn the ball over on downs with 94 yards to go to the endzone. After two offsides calls against Harper Woods, and first down plays from the Wildcats, Oxford found themselves on their own 41-yard line.

With 3:36 left in the first half, Hendrix threw a pass to senior Jake Champagne who ran 25 yards through the Pioneer defense to score for the Wildcats. After the PAT, the Wildcats took a 28-0 lead into halftime.
The second half saw the Wildcats score another unanswered 10 points for the victory.
Oxford lost their first game of the season 33-16 to Utica Eisenhower on Aug. 29. The Wildcats next game is 7 p.m. Friday at Clarkston, the first game against an OAA Red division rival. The Wildcats next home game is 7 p.m. Sept. 20 against Lake Orion.