South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Football Tigers defeat Fox 48-13 to end season

After suffering a devastating loss to Mehlville in districts the previous week, the Oakville Senior High School football team finished the 2006 season Friday night at home with a 48-13 win over Fox.

Oakville head coach Arlee Conners believed that not only was it important for the Tigers to bounce back from the Oct. 27 loss, but it also was vital for this year’s seniors to end their high school careers on a positive note.

“We had a group of seniors that had a lot of success in our program since their freshman year,” Conners told the Call. “They really laid the foundation for the players coming up and finished the season strong in a positive manner.”

The Tigers (9-1, 5-1 Suburban West) wasted little time shredding the Fox defense when quarterback Cody Terry connected with wide receiver Dwayne Pickens on a 23-yard touchdown pass with 9:12 to play in the first quarter. Pickens recorded five receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Fox. The senior wide receiver led the Tigers with 433 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

“Dwayne’s a very special player that did a lot of fantastic things for us all year long,” Conners said. “He’s definitely someone we’re going to miss.”

The Oakville starting quarterback was solid throughout the evening as he completed six of 10 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

“Cody looked a lot more comfortable that night than he has in other nights,” Conners said. “I thought that he made some good decisions out there.”

Oakville attacked the Fox defense from the ground when running back Fred Walton hammered in a five-yard touchdown run with 4:10 to play in the first quarter. Walton carried the ball 20 times for 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns. The senior running back also broke the school record with 1,507 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns.

“It was good to see Fred come back and have a good game,” Conners said. “He went over 1,500 yards for the season, and we really do wish the best for Fred.”

Fox finally responded to the Tigers’ 14-point outburst with a 30-yard touchdown run by Scott Gray with 39 seconds left in the quarter. But the Tigers immediately answered with a touchdown of their own as Walton torched the Fox defense on a 44-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds to play in the first quarter.

During the second quarter, Pickens recorded his second touchdown of the game on a nine-yard pass from Terry with 9:43 left in the first half. The Warriors trimmed Oakville’s lead to 28-13 when Alex Pisoni stunned the Tigers’ defense with a 55-yard touchdown run with 1:50 to play in the first half.

Oakville took a 35-13 lead early in the third quarter when James Jones scored on a seven-yard touchdown run with 9:32 to play in the quarter. Jones carried the ball four times for 25 yards in the win. The senior running back finished the season with 246 yards rushing and four touchdowns. He also recorded 75 tackles on defense as a linebacker.

Walton scored his third touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard run with 10:13 left to play. The Tigers finished the game with a 42-yard touchdown run by Jourdan Riley with 5:36 to play in the game. Riley carried the ball two times for 47 yards and the one touchdown. The junior wide receiver/running back recorded 47 yards rushing and 73 yards receiving along with five touchdowns.

With the 2006 season being one of the best in the history of Oakville football, the Tigers will have some lofty expectations for the 2007 season.

“The offensive line we’ll have next year will be much bigger than we were this year,” Conners said. “I think we’ve got some players in our program that will help us continue to have years of football at Oakville.”

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