By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD — Oxford’s varsity football team earned their third straight victory with a win over Rochester Adams on Friday night after taking a one-point lead with around 30 seconds left in the game.
The Wildcats entered the game tied for third with Lake Orion in the OAA Red standings with a 1-1 record, while Adams entered tied for first with Clarkston (2-1.) Oxford and Rochester Adams are now both 4-2 overall on the season.

The Wildcats scored first when senior Drew Cady kicked a field goal with 8:24 to play in the first quarter. From there, and despite several Wildcat tackles, Adams advanced within field goal range with yardage from players like senior Mateo Humbert. A field goal by senior Daniel Seymour tied the game with 2.5 seconds left in the first quarter.

Oxford opened the second quarter with two consecutive first downs – the first earned by a pass from junior quarterback Jack Hendrix to senior captain Luke Johnson with 11:29 to play. Another pass from Hendrix to senior Dean Rice resulted in another first down at the 9:20 mark. A second field goal from Cady a minute later put the

Wildcats ahead 6-3.
Oxford would not score again until the fourth quarter.
Adams threw an incomplete pass to the end zone and Oxford players tackled the offense before Adams took their first timeout with just under two minutes in the quarter. Forty-one seconds later, Humbert carried the ball for a

touchdown. The extra point made Adams’ lead 10-6 at halftime.
While both teams were scoreless in the third quarter, the Adams offense moved within touchdown distance to end the third, leading to a touchdown at start the fourth quarter.
With Oxford down by 11 points, senior Jake Champagne returned Adams’ kickoff to the 29-yard line before a pass from Hendrix to senior Eli Carpenter put the Wildcats at the 37-yard line. Johnson then caught a pass from Hendrix and ran for a touchdown with around 10:30 to play in the game. The score was 17-12.

Oxford’s defense later forced an interception by Carpenter after Adams worked the ball toward the other end of the field. The interception and multiple first downs lead to another Adams time out with just over a minute to play.

Oxford was at the six-yard line around 15 seconds later with a chance to take the lead. A holding penalty took Oxford back 10 yards, but Hendrix threw a 26-yard pass to Champaign to give the Wildcats a one-point lead.
Wildcats head coach Zach Line said his team kept battling in response to Adams’ lead.
“All the credit goes to these guys,” Line said. “The practice they put in, the preparation, all the situations we put them in.”
The Wildcats travel to West Bloomfield (3-3, 1-2 OAA Red) on Thursday for another OAA Red matchup. Game time is 7 p.m. West Bloomfield beat Lake Orion 49-41 on Friday.