Unionville rumbles to win over Oxford

OXFORD » Much as they have done all year, on Friday evening, the Unionville Longhorns did what they do best — run the football.

Though a game Oxford squad broke open some big plays and threatened to make it a close game at times, the Longhorns simply stuck to the ground game, handing off to Ethan Bennink and Joe King, who combined for 267 of Unionville’s 352 yards on the ground.

The Longhorns (8-1, 5-0 league) had an answer for everything Oxford (4-5, 2-3) gave them, and won going away, 49-22.

“The Oxford kids are always going to go hard and give you all they’ve got,” said Unionville coach Pat Clark. “But if you run the ball, and do what you can to keep their offense off the field, you’ll be OK. They gave us some trouble with their run game, and that wide receiver, No. 10 (Dak

Jones) is a heckuva player. But we did a lot of things really well ourselves, and that was the difference.”

Unionville had jumped out to a 21-0 lead on TD runs from Bennink (117 yards on 13 carries, TD) and King (9 for 150, 2 TDs) before Oxford finally got on the board late in the second period on a three yard end around from Jones.

“Those two are a great combo,” said Clark of King and Bennink. “Joe has great breakway speed, and Ethan is very physical, and not exactly slow himself. So it’s nice to be able to change them up and keep the defense a little off balance.”

Oxford cut the Unionville lead to 28-16 late in the third when a 48-yard run from Dom Pantalone set up a 3-yard score on a keeper by quarterback Dustin Long. Pantalone, who led all rushers with 204 yards on 21 carries, also broke free for 54 yards to set up the Hornets final score of the game, a 22-yard connection from

Long to Jones.

“I’m proud of the way our guys responded and battled all day,” said Oxford coach Mike Means. “I was really happy with the run game. The o-line did a fantastic job. Our defense has carried us all year, so it was great that we seem to be figuring some things out offensively.”

The Hornets barely had time to high five after the TD before the Longhorns answered back. On Unionville’s first play from scrimmage following Long’s touchdown, King took the hand-off, turned it outside, and sprinted down the sideline in front of the Oxford bench for a 62-yard touchdown.

“I had Brandon D’Amico to my left and he said he’d get me the block,” said King. “He did it, I saw the opening, and knew I was going all the way. After the COVID season as a sophomore, this year has been so much fun.”

For Bennink, Unionville’s rushing total for the night was not exactly surprising.

“Honestly, we’re good at running the football,” said Bennink. “I think we had 360 last week. It’s nice to have both me and Joe, to give each other breaks. And our quarterback, Joe McCloskey, can run well too. By the end of the game, our conditioning came through and we wore them out. They have a good offense, and are big up front, but in the end, I think we just wore them out and outlasted them.”

The Hornets, despite the loss, can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Henderson next week.

“We have a lot of positives to take from this game,” said Means. “We have to iron a few things out and build on the positives from tonight’s game. It’s a one week mentality — let’s just give ourselves a chance. It won’t be easy because they are shooting for the same thing, but if we can get the win and get in, we have a shot.”