Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Oxford outlasts Patriots in close battle
OXFORD >> When Oxford’s Brett Kochmansky left the game with an injury early in the fourth quarter, the Hornet defense knew it was going to step up its game to stop a surging Great Valley squad hungry for an upset win. The Patriots’ Jake Prevost was having a huge game passing, but the Oxford defense was going to have to find a way to stop him.
Twice in the final two minutes, the Hornets came up with big defensive plays, and iced the victory when Brandon McWilliams picked off a deep ball. The Hornets (5-3, 2-2) could then simply run out the clock on a 34-32 homecoming victory of Great Valley (2-5, 1-3).
“We hadn’t been doing as well on offense as we would have liked,” said McWilliams. “So we knew we’d have to pick it up on defense. We made the stops we need to make down the stretch. Great to get the win.”
With the Hornets clinging to a two-point lead, Great Valley took over at its own one-yard line with just over five minutes to play, and began churning out the yards, driving into Hornet territory. The Patriots faced a fourth-and inches at the Oxford 40 when they handed off to Amani Christopher. But Christopher was met behind the line of scrimmage by Nathan Roumaniotis, who stuffed the run short.
“It’s great to see a guy like that come up with the big play,” said Oxford coach Mike Means. “He’s a senior, and he hasn’t gotten a ton of playing time of the years, so to see him step up and make that kind of play when we really needed it was great.”
The Great Valley defense, though, came up with a stop of its own, and Prevost, who had thrown for 296 yards to that point, still had 1:06 left to work with, needing to go 60 yards for the win. But on second down, McWilliams came through with the big pick.
“I’m proud of these kids and the way they kept battling back,” said Great Valley coach Dan Ellis. “Jake has been playing really well, though I know he’s probably beating himself up over a few missed throws. We did a lot of things well tonight. We just didn’t finish. We’ve got to learn to finish.”
Oxford did most of its damage on the ground, churning out 315 yards of rushing, paced by Tim Faber, who picked up 173 yards on 21 carries. Just Great Valley had cut the Oxford lead to just 27-26, Faber went 70 yards for a touchdown on first down of the Hornets’ ensuing possession.
“The guys up front just kept telling me one was going to open up for me,” said Faber. “They were doing a great job all night. Once I got through the hole they gave me there, I knew I was going all the way. This was a great win for us.”
It’s that time of year when they playoff picture starts getting a little clearer. But you won’t catch the Hornets thinking past next week, although it looks as though the Hornets stand a chance of not just reaching the district tournament for a second straight year, there’s a good chance they could be hosting a first round game should they win out.
“It’s exciting to watch the program grow the way it has,” said Means. But we’ll think about playoffs when it’s playoffs. Right now, we have to start thinking about getting a win over Kennett, who has been playing tough lately.”