A mounting pile of mistakes grew higher Friday as members of the Oakville football team helped Francis Howell North beat up on themselves in a 40-19 loss at home.
“It was the same thing for us tonight. We’re making too many mistakes and hurting ourselves,” Oakville High School head coach Arlee Connors said.
The Tigers (1-4) rushed for 372 yards and outgained the Knights (2-3) by 72 yards on offense, but committed three turnovers and too many penalties.
“When you get a running back to rush for over 200 yards and a quarterback to rush for over 100 yards, you’d think you should be able to do some things,” Connors said.
Oakville lost two fumbles, one of which was returned for a 10-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, threw an interception and had a long touchdown score erased by offsetting personal foul penalties. The loss is the Tigers’ fourth by 18 points or more.
“They’re frustrated because they all want to win,” Connors said of his team’s players. “They understand it’s everybody. It’s not one or two guys going out there screwing it up. It’s never the same guy. They all know they have to stay together.”
Oakville had the only points of the game until the two-minute, 30-second mark of the first quarter. Senior running back Darrion Moore scored on an eight-yard run just before four minutes ticked off the game clock.
Francis Howell North grabbed a 7-6 lead on a seven-yard run by Terron Givans, and scored the next three touchdowns to build a 26-6 lead in the third quarter. Moore broke free for a 72-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 26-13 going into the fourth quarter.
Knights wide receiver and defensive back Steve Raines scored his second and third touchdowns of the night to push North’s lead to 40-13.
Oakville sophomore Anthony Herrera closed the scoring with a four-yard touchdown catch from backup quarterback Brendan Jost.
“They have the talent. They just have to play with the confidence,” Connors said. “Right now, they’re unsure of everything and when you’re unsure, you make a lot of dumb mistakes. They’re thinking and not playing.”
Moore rushed for 244 yards on 22 carries and junior quarterback Javon Henderson actually rushed eight times for 99 yards.
“If you rush that well, obviously, you’re not doing things that bad. You just have to buckle down and do the little things right,” Connors said.
Jost feels right in the pocket when he’s given the chance. The 6-foot-3-inch sophomore completed three of five passes for 67 yards and the touchdown. Against Mehlville Sept. 17, he connected on two of four passes after entering in the second half.
The Tigers stay at home Friday for a 7 p.m. game against DeSmet (2-3).
