Week 1 : O'Hara 49 Clinton 0

The O'Hara Celtics kicked off our 2008 football season with a 49-0 victory over the Clinton Cardinals in a West Central Conference game. This game was highlighted by several big plays, as the Celtics blew open a tight game by scoring 5 out of 6 times we touched the ball in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
After a sluggish 1st quarter where both teams traded the ball back and forth, the Celtics finally put a good drive together at the beginning of the 2nd quarter and scored on a 1 yard plunge by James Tillman. Quarterback T. J. White completed key passes on the drive to Tillman and Tight End Joe Pepple.
On the ensuing drive a Pepple interception sparked a run of big plays. On the first play of the drive White connected on a 45 yard pass to Split End Danny Hernandez. After forcing a Clinton punt that rolled to the O'Hara 9 yard line, Tillman popped through a gaping hole up the middle and sprinted 91 yards for his second score of the game. The entire offensive line and fullback Raphael Spencer blocked the play beautifully. Late in the 2nd quarter Danny Hernandez showed greart anticipation, stepping in front of the Clinton receiver and returning an interception 44 yards for a touchdown.
Hernandez opened the 2nd half by returning the kickoff for his 3rd touchdown of the game. He acheived the rare feat of scoring on offense, defense, and special teams. This may be a first in O'Hara football history. After a nice punt return by D. J. Jackson , Terrell Johnson continued the string of one play scores with a 33 yard touchdown run. Jackson relieved White as quarterback on the next drive, and capped the scoring with a 30 yard scramble up the right side. Spencer and Alex Rogers both had nice runs during that drive.
The defense played well the entire game, led in tackles by linebacker Chuck Preston and defensive end Louis Golden. The back up defense maintained the shut out, ending a late Clinton drive with a fumble that went as a touchback. Everyone who suited up was able to play at least a quarter.
The special teams had a good night. Besides the good kick returns, Senior Bryce Scovill began his 4th season as the Celtics' kicker by making all 7 of his PATs. Logan Naudet's deep snaps and Pepple's holds were perfect all night. Punter Larry Ligget boomed high punts that helped change field position. Joe Melchior was a stand out on the coverage teams, making several good tackles.
The Celtics next game is Friday, September 5th versus the Oak Grove Panthers. Oak Grove plays in the new MRVC East Conference, and is coming off a 33-10 season opening victory over Warrensburg. In that game running back Trey Rigby carried the ball 29 times for 191 yards and 3 touchdowns. This game will resume a good rivalry between O'Hara and Oak Grove. The two schools played 10 games in the 1980s and 90s, splitting them evenly. Most of those games were very close and exciting, and often determined who would advance in the playoffs. The teams last played in 1997.