Oxford rolls past Avon Grove, 33-7

Photo by Bill Rudick/ Oxford's Colton Turns returns a kick for a TD. In addition to the 96-yard kick
return, Turns added a 41-yard TD run in the Hornets' 33-7 win over Avon Grove.

By BILL RUDICK
brudick55@gmail.com

WEST GROVE — It didn’t take long for Oxford to grab the lead over host Avon Grove as Colton Turns returned the opening kick off 96 yards for a touchdown, and the Hornets (2-0) didn’t let up, finishing strong for a 33-7 nonleague win over the Red Devils (0-2) on Friday.

“We’ve gotten ourselves in early holes two weeks in a row now,” said Avon Grove coach Doug Langley. “We’re playing hard the whole way, but we can’t keep giving up the early leads and having to play comeback.”

The Red Devils would run just three plays before Oxford created its first break when Eric Bentz picked off a pass over the middle, giving the Hornets the ball near midfield.  A pass from Ethan Herb to Collin Dawkins reached the Red Devils’ ten.  The pair then connected on a fourth-and-six for the score and a 12-0 lead.

“I’ve got a whole lot of love for this team this year,” said Bentz, who picked off a pair of passes on the day, and might have had a pick-six, but couldn’t hang on. “We’re no joke this year.  We have a lot of confidence, but now that we’re 2-0, all we can worry about is making it 3-0.”

Musty Mahmud, the Hornets’ leading rusher  last season, was stymied by the large defensive front of Kenard-Dale last week.  Week 2 saw a return to form for Mahmud, as he led all rushers with 117 yards on 17 carries.  Mahmud found the end zone twice on the night, once on a 37-yard scamper, the other from 17 yards.

“The guys upfront did a great job blocking tonight,” said Mahmud. “They were making the holes, and I just had to run through them.  It’s great to get the win, but we’re still hungry.  We can still play better and score more.”

Turns, who finished the day with 59 yards on five carries, also had a pair of touchdowns.  Besides the kickoff return, Turns added a 41-yard run for Oxford’s final score of the night.

“We might not run the option,” said Oxford coach Mike Pietlock. “But we certainly have options.  We get Musty going like he was today, and defenses have to key on him.  Then we go to Colton and his speed and elusiveness.”

Avon Grove’s score came in the first quarter when Andrey Green ran it in from five yards out.  Cody Davis led the Red Devils’ rushing attack, finishing with 53 yards on 12 carries. 

Defensively, the Red Devils turned it up a notch in the second half, with only the big score from Turns coming in the final two periods.  And they reined in Mahmud, limiting him to 28 yards in the second half after allowing 89 in the first.

“There were definite sparks of good things for us,”  said Langley. “We just have to keep our heads and work on getting better every week.”

The Hornets, meanwhile, will look to move to 3-0 with a win over Solanco next week.

“But we have to keep focus on one game at a time,” said Pietlock.  “We got off to the 3-1 start last year, and we might have gotten a little too excited.  Then we hit our league schedule and reality set in.  I like the way our defense is playing — they are fast and aggressive and nasty.  We have a lot of confidence, but we have to just keep focusing on one game at a time.”

Oxford 33, Avon Grove 7
Oxford    12 14 0 7 -- 33
Avon Grove    7 0 0 0 -- 7
                                                                       Scoring
OX- Turns 96 kick return (kick failed)
OX- Dawkins 6 pass from Herb (kick failed)
AG- Green 5 run (Scarpato kick)
OX- Mahmud 37 run (Dawkins pass from Herb)
OX- Mahmud 17 run (kick failed)
OX- Turns 41 run (Boohar kick)
                                                                   Team Totals
                      OX     AG
First downs     8    13
Yards rushing     213    95
Yards passing     73    78
Total yards    286    173
Passing     5-12-1    7-19-2
Fumbles-Lost     0-0    4-1
Penalties    3-30    2-30
Punts-Avg.     2-49.0    5-24.4
                                                             Individual Statistics
RUSHING - Oxford: Mahmud 17-117, 2 TD; Turns 5-59, TD; Herb 3-23; Lopez 1-8; Way 1-17; Hubley 1-13. Avon Grove - Davis 12-53; Green 7-17, TD; Moran 4-16; D’Aquanno 2-(-6); Peck 4-2; Kush 2-10; Grider 1-3.
PASSING - Oxford: Herb 5-12-1, 73 yards, TD. Avon Grove: Peck 7-19-2, 78 yards.
RECEIVING - Oxford: Dawkins 2-31; Hubley 1-30; Mahmud 1-2. Avon Grove: Harrison 3-54; Lawrence 1-11; Davis 1-6; Moran 1-6; Luzzi 1-1. 
SACKS - Oxford: None. Avon Grove: Matalon.
INTERCEPTIONS - Oxford: Bentz 2. Avon Grove: Luzzi.