Oak Park, MI. – On a cool crisp night with a beautiful sky of blue silhouetting over Oak Park’s football stadium, the hometown Knights showed their talents off on senior night in a crossover game, defeating the Oxford Wildcats 35-7.
It was running back by committee for the Knights with all the speed and talent in their backfield as they drove down the field but the Wildcats forced them into a fourth and 1 situation. Knights Head Coach Greg Carter having faith in his huge offensive line elected to go for it and it paid off as Davion Primm used a burst of speed to go 24 yards for the score.
After a solid defensive stand by the Knights and the Wildcats punt, Junior back Travis Boston Jr. ran 51 yards and set up Primm for his second touchdown of the game as he scored from 2 yards out.
It was all Knights for the first half as a smothering defense kept the Wildcats from getting anything going and the Knights took a 21-0 lead into the locker room with them at halftime after quarterback Frank Black scrambled for a 9- yard score.
The Wildcats received the ball after the half but after a quick 3 and out and a short punt, the Knights would add to their big lead as senior DeVonta Twymon would take it in from 25 yards out.
It was all Knights all night as they forced a safety on a punt in the Wildcats end zone late in the third. After the ensuing kickoff, the Knights moved down the field again and it was Boston scoring on a 4th and 1 as he burst through the line and outran everyone for a 21-yard score and 35-0 lead.
With the playoffs looming and a big lead, Coach Carter started letting his second-string players and younger players in the game to get some experience. The Wildcats were able to get on the board and stop the shutout with a late 10-yard touchdown pass from Drew Carpenter to Trenton Brown.
Carpenter led the Wildcats with 64 yards through the air with one touchdown pass while Matthew Pullman finished with 18 yards on 7 carries.
The Knights gained 337 yards on the ground while holding the Wildcats to 119 yards total. Twymon finished with 141 yards while Boston racked up 113 on 7 carries. Enzo Jennings led the defense with 5 tackles with Rayshaun Benny getting 3 1/2, and Dondi Price getting 3.
One big event that happened during the game that had everyone talking was when a helicopter flew in and landed right next to the stadium carrying Penn State University head coach James Franklin who was in East Lansing for his team’s game Saturday against the Michigan State Spartans. He came in to check out his recruit Enzo Jennings, the number 1 ranked defensive back in the state of Michigan.
Oak Park finishes the season 8-1 with their only loss to one of the top Division 1 teams in the state, West Bloomfield, in the first game of the season when they fell by 6 in the final minutes of the game. The Knights are on a mission and have much top talent and are looking to get their first state championship game. The Knights have made the playoffs every year since Coach Carter has taken over the helm in 2011.
The Knights will wait to see who they are scheduled to play next week in the Districts as the playoff pairings are announced by the MHSAA tonight.
Update 10/28/19 Oak Park will host 8-1 Farmington Friday Night.
