A winning record at the halfway point of the season was the prize up for grabs for the Oakville Senior High School football team Friday night and the Tigers claimed it, defeating Francis Howell North 43-14.

The Tigers (3-2), who have won two in a row, played well all around with execution being the driving force behind their recent success, according to head coach Arlee Conners.

“I think that we are getting to the point where we are starting to do things we thought we could do coming in and I think it’s execution pretty much,” he told the Call. “We’ve got the talent and we’ve got the know-how.

“It’s all about putting it together and I think that’s what the guys are doing these days — putting things together like they should be doing.”

Conners is happy with where his team is at right now and is focused on seeing improvement each week.

“It’s nice to be on the upside, but we understand that we still have some things to do to get better,” he said. “And you know, we lost some games early by not doing some things right and that’s what we are working on. (We) keep getting better and better as we get closer to district play.”

Every Tiger stepped up offensively against Francis Howell North, Conners said.

“I would say everybody,” he said when asked about his biggest offensive contributors in the contest. “All of those guys are just coming around and just doing what they are supposed to be doing.”

The Tigers’ Derrick Brown led the assault, carrying in three touchdowns and rushing for 80 yards. Javon Henderson scored two — one on a 75-yard reception from sophomore quarterback Andy Oliver and the other on a 50-yard run.

Also scoring a touchdown was Moe LaGrand. He ran for 129 yards in 18 rushes for an average of 7.2 yards per carry in the game.

Oliver threw for 187 yards with nine completions in 17 attempts.

The Tigers set the tone for the game early as they scored on their opening drive. The Knights answered just 24 seconds later, but it didn’t stop Oakville as the Tigers added three more touchdowns for a total of 28 points in the first quarter. Getting ahead early is something the team has done in each of its three victories.

Oakville added another touchdown and a safety in the second. The Tigers added one more in the third before giving up a Knights’ touchdown in the last quarter.

Conners was pleased with the work of his defensive squad.

“The defense played really good … I thought defensively we were solid all night,” he said.

The Tigers will square off Friday night against a tough De Smet (4-1) team. Conners said he hopes the Tigers fare better than last year.

“Last year they beat us 42-0 … This year we definitely look a lot better,” he said.