Hornets start fast in rout of Kennett

OXFORD 55, KENNETT 36

OXFORD » On the surface, Friday’s Ches-Mont League American Division clash between Kennett and Oxford appeared to be between teams that have traveled similar paths this season: a quick start followed by recent troubles. But that’s a bit deceiving and those paths quickly diverged in the first half during Senior Night at Oxford.

Not a candidate for a blowout as little as several weeks ago, this was a mismatch from the start. The host Hornets scored the first 38 points and went on to win it 55-36. Quarterback Chandler England accounted for five touchdowns as the Hornets improve to 2-3 in the league, 5-3 overall.

“Our kids came out laserfocused and ready to play,” said Oxford head coach Michael Means. “They see the bigger picture now. We have the opportunity to do something no team has done here in a while, and that’s go to the 5A playoffs. We are unbelievably excited about that opportunity.”

In all, the Hornets rolled up 467 yards of offense, including a 300-plus through the air by England, who targeted teammate Brandon Deshields eight times for 157 yards and two TDs. Senior runner Brandon Holz chipped in with 95 yards on the ground.

“We were just running up and down the field,” Deshields said. “Coach Means just has a lot of trust in the passing game this year. And you add in the run game and our offense can be dominant.”

Despite scoring 36 in the second half, it was another tough outing for the Blue Demons (0-4, 2-6), who have now dropped five in a row. Kennett got electric quarterback Jake Dilcher back from injury a week earlier, but it’s now pretty clear that the Demons peaked back in midSeptember. And frustrations are mounting.

“It certainly looks that way,” head coach Josh Kaufman acknowledged. “We certainly played our best football in September and we lost momentum somewhere along the way. I’ll take the blame for that as the head coach.”

The final score doesn’t accurately indicate just how dominant Oxford was. It outgained Kennett by nearly 250 yards in the first half alone and never once punted the football.

“It was a very clean offensively, especially in the first half,” Means said. “And on defense we got great pressure. We contained Dilcher, which was the whole game plan. That’s something we didn’t do in the second half.”

The Hornets scored on six of their seven first half possessions, and England had a hand in all five TDs, throwing for four and adding another on the ground. He found Deshields for touchdowns of 18- and 47-yards, added a 48-yarder to Julian Nadachowski and a 32-yarder to Alijah Thomas. The senior added a short TD run before the half to make it 38-0.

“It was one of our better halves, but I know we are capable of doing that every game. We were just really clicking tonight and dominated all over the field,” Deshields said.

“(Chandler) is an absolute gym-rat. To see the steps he’s taken in the last three years is amazing,” Means added. “He’s a maestro out there, and when we are on rhythm, it’s fun to watch. And he’s the guy pulling the strings.

“We put a ton on his shoulders and make it easy for everybody else.”