By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

In one of its best defensive efforts this season, the Oakville Senior High School football team held Kirkwood to its lowest scoring game of the year in a 14-0 loss to the Pioneers.

“It was a pretty good effort defensively,” Oakville head coach Arlee Conners said. “We came up with some different defensive schemes, and it worked out pretty good.”

Kirkwood grabbed a 7-0 lead with 8:04 left in the first quarter as Jeremy Maclin scored on a two-yard touchdown run with Jake Hilton nailing the extra-point attempt.

The Tigers (3-4, 1-4 Suburban West) held the Pioneers scoreless in the second quarter and for a good part of the third quarter.

Yet with no time left to play in the third quarter, Mike McNeill scored on a 62-yard touchdown pass from Maclin.

Oakville’s Fred Walton led the Tigers’ ground attack with 18 carries for 71 yards. The junior tailback has 240 yards rushing this season.

“Fred just continues to improve every opportunity he gets,” the Oakville coach said. “It’s just a matter of time before he pops off one of those big runs.”

Tiger quarterback Sam Kriegel was solid despite not finding the end zone against the Pioneers. The senior was 9 of 13 for 87 yards and one interception.

“Sam made some decent throws that allowed us to get first downs,” Conners said. “I thought that he played a pretty good game.”

Running back Quran Greene led the Tigers in receptions with four for 43 yards. The junior also had four carries for 22 yards to add on to his 157 yards rushing this season.

“Quran’s an exciting young player that we’re just waiting to explode,” Conners said. “He’s a tough kid that can do a lot of different things for us.”

On defense, Chris Kaestner led the Tigers with nine tackles and five assists. The senior outside linebacker has 40 tackles and 23 assists, plus a team-leading two fumble recoveries.

Oakville will meet the Northwest Lions at 7 p.m. Friday at home in the first round of the District 1 playoffs. The Lions are reeling from a five-game losing streak that includes a 53-14 loss at home to Lafayette.