Oxford dominates
- Updated: September 15, 2018
Yellow Jackets have their way with Charles Henderson, host defending 6A champion Pinson Valley this week
By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today
TROY – The Oxford defense has been strong all season long, and now the offense has gotten into the act – just in time for the biggest test of the season.
The second-ranked Yellow Jackets (4-0) blew out to a 55-0 halftime lead and went on to demolish the Charles Henderson Trojans 62-0 in Troy University’s Veterans Memorial Stadium Friday night. It was their 24th straight regular season win.
“It was just a perfect storm,” Yellow Jackets head coach Ryan Herring said. “They had some tough breaks and we had some good breaks. They played a heck of a game against Enterprise earlier this year.
“Both sides of the ball are playing well, but our test is going to be next week. We will see how we measure up against the best in the state next week.”
He was referring, of course, to defending 6A champion Pinson Valley, which comes to Lamar Field Friday night.
The Trojans (2-2) had no answer for the Oxford offense. In the first half quarterback Trey Higgins threw two touchdown passes – 76 yards to Jonovan Carlisle and 24 yards to Zay Britt – and Tyetus Smith-Lindsey rambled for three touchdowns on runs of 6, 7 and 54 yards.
“We knew that play would work and we practiced all week on it and Trey executed really well on the pass,” Britt said of his over-the-shoulder catch in the corner of the end zone.” I feel like our team is working real hard and coming together. It is kind of like a brotherhood.”
Carlisle and Higgins also ran for touchdowns and cornerback Asante Ferrell added a 46-yard interception return.
Smith-Lindsey rushed for 112 yards on 20 carries behind the line’s best game of the year. In addition to his touchdown reception, Carlisle rushed for 57 yards.
“Carlisle had a real good game. He is getting better every week,” said Herring.
The defense continued doing its job. They held the Trojans to just 14 yards of offense and forced a three-and-out on eight of nine possessions. The defense has allowed only 333 yards in the first four games on 187 plays – a little under two yards a play.
“We read our keys and we were able to dominate again,” linebacker Prentice Fomby said. “We work hard on the two-minute drills every week.”
Oxford 62, Charles Henderson 0
Team stats Oxf CH
First Downs 18 4
Rushes-yds 28-256 26-54
Passes 7-11-0 3-18-1
Passing yds 207 9
Fumbles lost 0 0
Punts-avg 1-40.0 10-31.0
Penalties 3-20 7-63
Scoring summary
Oxford 27 28 7 0 – 62
C. Henderson 0 0 0 0 – 0
O – Jonovan Carlisle 2 run (Misael Reyes kick), 10:56 1Q
O – Tyetus Smith-Lindsey 6 run (Misael Reyes kick), 7:02 1Q
O – Trey Higgins 2 run (kick failed), 3:56 1Q
O – Zay Britt 24 pass from Trey Higgins (Misael Reyes kick), 0:24 1Q
O – Asante Ferrell 46 interception return (Misael Reyes kick), 7:52 2Q
O – Jonovan Carlisle 76 pass from Trey Higgins (Misael Reyes kick), 5:42 2Q
O – Tyetus Smith Lindsey 7 run (Misael Reyes kick), 2:58 2Q
O – Tyetus Smith-Lindsey 54 run (Misael Reyes kick), 0:52 2Q
O – Jordan Booker 26 run (Misael Reyes kick), 9:04 3Q
Notes from the Huddle
Game Changing Play: The opening kick-off saw the Jackets force a fumble and recover at the Charles Henderson 17 yard line. Carlisle punched it from the 2 and in less than a minute into the game, Oxford led 7-0 and had all the momentum. There was a report the Trojans declined the option of a running clock in the second half of the lopsided game, but were overruled by the officials.
Oxford Receivers: Rock Taylor caught 3 passes for 54 yards in the first half. Zay Britt had four catches for 86 yards and Carlisle looked good coming out of the backfield with a 76-yard catch for a score.
Oxford Defensive Line: The line created eight running plays for losses on 18 first-half attempts by the Trojans; it had four sacks. The second team did not give up any points on this night; they gave up the Jackets’ only touchdown of the year to Gadsden City on the last play of the game.
Oxford Linebackers: Kendall McCallum and Prentice Fomby were all over the field, but only had to play 27 snaps in the game before resting in the second half
Special Teams: Misael Reyes hit on 8 of 9 extra points and seemed to get his aim back after having some issues last week. Andrew Warhurst hit all of his kickoffs inside the 20 to keep the Trojans in their own territory the entire game.
Oxford Secondary: The secondary held the Trojans to only nine passing yards. Ferrell had the interception return for a score and there were at least five other balls that the hit the hands of the defensive backs that could have been interceptions.
Next Week: The Jackets are home next week to host defending state 6A champion Pinson Valley. The Indians lost to 7A Hoover in their opening game and that was their only loss in their last 19 starts. Auburn quarterback commit “Bo” Nix will lead one of the top offenses in the state and the state’s best defense. The Yellow Jackets are 5-1 all-time against the Indians, 6-0 on the field, as they had to forfeit a win in 2007. Oxford has outscored the Indians 216-98 all-time.
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