See Tyetus run
- Updated: September 23, 2017
Oxford’s Smith-Lindsey goes for 271 yards and 5 TDs, defense stout once again as Jackets blank Albertville for second year in a row
By East Alabama Sports Today
ALBERTVILLE — They say when the visiting team gets off the bus at McCord Field it’s already 21 points behind because the atmosphere in the place is just that intimidating.
Oxford found that to be true Friday night, but the Yellow Jackets shook off the imaginary deficit to erupt for 22 second-quarter points and coast to a 43-0 win over the Aggies.
It was the Jackets’ 15th straight regular season-victory and eighth in a row in Class 6A Area 7. It was the second year in a row they shut out the Aggies; last year it was 44-0.
Oxford (5-0, 3-0) was tagged with five penalties in its first 12 plays and missed a field goal that looked pretty good from this angle and remained tied 0-0 after one quarter.
But the third-ranked Jackets took over in the second quarter, with Tyetus Smith-Lindsey scoring three touchdowns to give them a 22-0 halftime lead.
Lindsey capped a time-consuming 14-play, 83-yard drive with a 5-yard run for his first touchdown, broke off a 60-yard run on the first play of the next possession to give the Jackets a 14-point lead and had an 8-yard scamper to cap a 65-yard, seven-play drive.
The big play of the third scoring drive was a 42-yard pass from quarterback Abe Peoples to Antwon Fegans. Caden Higgins ran in the two-point conversion on a mishandled snap and it was 22-0 at the break.
Smith-Lindsey kept battering the Aggies defense in the third quarter scoring from 18 and 63 yards out. He ended up with 271 yards on 21 carries and five touchdowns, boosting his season total to 14 touchdowns and 720 yards rushing.
At one point in the game he carried 21 of 26 plays.
“He was something out there tonight,” Oxford head coach Ryan Herring said.
“My line just gave me some huge holes to run through; I could not do it without them,” Smith-Lindsey said. “Give the defense credit too, as they kept their defense on the field as everybody over there was making big play after big play.”
Quarterback Abe Peoples has been banged up most of the year and the Jackets have not been able to use him in the running game. But they’re starting to develop that part of the offense, giving their opponents something more to worry about.
People ran six times for 43 yards and had a 26-yard run.
“He bruised his shoulder tonight,” said Herring. “We just gotta find a way to keep him healthy.”
The Oxford defense, meanwhile, was as stalwart as ever, allowed the Aggies only one first down in the half and that on the next to last play.
The Jackets gave up only 55 total yards in the game, the fourth time in five games this year they have held their opponents to fewer than 100 yards. Kendall McCallum led the defense with 11 tackles and Prentice Fomby had six.
The 271 yards Smith-Lindsey rushed for against the Aggies is six more than the Oxford defense has allowed in five games. Opponents are averaging less than two yards a carry on 120 rushing attempts this year.
“We are just trying to make sure we are all in our right positions and I just try to make plays to help our team,” McCallum said.
Each shutout costs an Oxford coach his hair as the team goes through a ritual post-game shaving and as the number increases more Jackets coaches are taking their time getting to the locker room when a zero is posted. Chris Norton was this year’s third victim Friday.
[table id=64 /]
Oxford 0 22 14 7 — 43
Albertville 0 0 0 0 — 0
O – Tyetus Smith-Lindsey 5 run (Zane Barbaro kick), 7:41 2Q
O – Tyetus Smith-Lindsey 60 run (Zane Barbaro kick), 5:49 2Q
O – Tyetus Smith-Lindsey 8 run (Caden Higgins run), 1:29 2Q
O – Tyetus Smith-Lindsey 18 run (Zane Barbaro kick), 9:45 3Q
O ¬– Tyetus Smith-Lindsey 63 run (Zane Barbaro kick), 7:57 3Q
O – Trey Higgins 28 yard (Zane Barbaro kick), 0:55 4Q
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