Oxford Hornets Close Out Last Game Of The Season On Senior Night Against Sun Valley Vanguards

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News

Ted Podberesky | October 28, 2023

Oxford Hornets hosted the Sun Valley Vanguards this Friday night in the last game of the regular season. Oxford (1-8) had plans of ending on a positive note with a win while Sun Valley (3-6) looked for playoff contention. Oxford Hornets pull away on their senior night and win over the Sun Valley Vanguards 42-21.

Oxford elected to defend first and kicked away to Sun Valley to start the 1st quarter. Sun Valley started off fierce with the first play of the game being a trick play, quarterback RJ Sharrer found wide receiver Josh Yanonis down the middle wide open for a 64 touchdown. 

The Hornets started off slow after getting the ball, letting CJ Boyer chew up a couple inside runs. It didn’t take long until junior quarterback Aiden Kane kept a handoff for himself and dashed up the middle and down the sideline for a 64 yard gain. CJ Boyer punched his way into the redzone for a 6 yard touchdown a play after. 

After getting the ball back Sun Valley came out passing again, but this time the defense was ready. Oxford sent the blitz from the edge and Sharrer’s pass was batted and tipped into the air, sophomore Joel Mcclain intercepted the ball and rallied his way for a pick six with nine minutes to go in the first quarter. 

Josh Yanonis had a big play on special teams, returning the kick and bringing it to the Hornets 25 yard line. However, Oxford made 3 massive stops in a row to force Sun Valley out of field goal range and to get the ball back. Kane and Boyer continued to eat up small runs, until Aidan Kane found his receiver Justin Tyre wide open down the sideline on a busted coverage for a 54 yard touchdown. 

With two minutes remaining in the first, Sun Valley continued with their pass game trying to involve all their playmakers. With little time remaining the Hornets made a stop and forced a punt pushing the game into the second quarter. 

The first play of the second quarter was a run to CJ Boyer, the second play was a fumble where linebacker Ryan Creegan recovered for the Vanguards. However, Oxford’s defense had a ton of momentum and shut Sun Valley again down forcing another punt. 

Oxford came out throwing after receiving the ball back, Kane eventually hooked up downfield with receiver Nate Winters. With Sun Valley down 28-7 they had to keep with their pass game, and that’s exactly what they did. After a couple good catches and runs from Ethan Boyer and Jack Penzone, linebacker Connor Mallon picked off Sharrer and ran 75 yards for another Hornets pick six. The extra point was missed and both teams headed to halftime with Oxford leading Sun Valley 34-7. 

Sun Valley came out of halftime and hit Oxford with an onside kick, where they recovered to start the third quarter. Three plays later, Sun Valley fumbled and linebacker Jordan Schaible for the Hornets recovered.

After a couple possessions of going back and forth, Aidan Kane drove Oxford down the field and found Davyn Anderson over the middle for a 10 yard touchdown. The next play the Hornets used play action for Kane to find Justin Tyre for the two point conversion, which pushed their lead to 42-7. 

Sun Valley started to pick up a good drive, pushing the game into the fourth quarter after getting the ball back. Eventually, Sharrer found Yanonis in the back of the end zone for a 14 yard touchdown. Oxford was chewing up a lot of clock until linebacker Ryan Creegan shot a gap and blew up the play leading towards a fumble, where defensive end Elijah Jones recovered. 

The Vanguards proceeded to march deeper into Hornets territory, until Sharrer found his tight end Aidan Cook over the middle for a 9 yard touchdown. Oxford held onto the ball after getting it back, running down the clock and taking one last knee to end the regular season and take home a senior night win. 

Quarterback Aidan Kane for the Oxford Hornets who passed for over 170 yards and 3 touchdowns to pair with 58 rushing states that, “ It felt great to get this win for the seniors, we lost some tough ones early on but we just need to stay ourselves and keep working. The connection for all of us has always been there, my teammates help me look better “. 

Wide Receiver Josh Yanonis for the Sun Valley Vanguards who caught 2 touchdowns to pair with 92 yards says that, “ Even with a rough loss we gotta hold our heads high and keep working, there’s four quarters to a game. 

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