In a game notable for the weather, O'Hara defeated Warrensburg 31-13. A couple days of constant rain had left the game field soaked, and tornados and lightning had led to several area games being postponed, but our well crowned field drained well, the bermuda turf held up beautifully, and we were able to get the game in as scheduled.
The first quarter was played in a driving rain storm. Warrensburg nearly ran the opening kickoff back, but kicker Bryce Scovill made the first of his two touchdown saving tackles. James Tillman caused a Warrensburg fumble on the their first play from scrimmage, and it was recovered by Chuck Preston. O'Hara methodically worked the ball down the field with a mix of runs and passes, even overcoming a loss of several yards due to a mishandled shot gun snap. Tillman culminated the drive with a 1 yard plunge.
Warrensburg pulled even later in the quarter after blocking a punt deep in O'Hara territory.
In the second quarter the rain let up, and O'Hara regained the lead on a 4 yard run by Tillman. The halftime score was 14-7.
The ball became too slick to throw effectively, so O'Hara primarily ran the ball in the second half. Tillman, Preston, T.J. White, and Raphael Spencer all contributed several nice runs to the ground attack. After a scoreless 3rd quarter the Celtics broke the game open with 17 4th quarter points. Tillman scored his 3rd touchdown of the game on a 32 sweep around the right end. Preston started the next drive by recovering a fumble that was caused by Alex Rogers, and capped it with a 1 yard run. After a quick Warrensburg score cut the O'Hara lead to 28-13, the Celtics responded with a scoring drive that featured a couple nice runs by Spencer. After the drive bogged down at the Warrensburg 12, Scovill booted his first field goal fo the year, a 29 yarder. He also remained perfect for the year by making all 4 of the extra points.
The defense was led in tackles by Louis Golden, Preston, and Joey Tucker. The offense rolled up 288 yards rushing. Danny Hernandez was the leading reciever with 4 receptions.
O'Hara's record improves to 2-1, and we are now 2-0 in the West Central Conference. Next week O'Hara travels to Sedalia for a key conference game against the Smith-Cotton Tigers, who are 3-0 on the year with big wins over St. Pius X, Clinton, and Marshall. Sedalia features All State running back Solomon Watkins, who is one of the fastest players O'Hara has ever faced.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Week 2 : Oak Grove 28 O'Hara 21
O'Hara lost a tough game to Oak Grove 28-21. The Celtics started well, scoring on our first two drives and taking a 14-0 lead on a pair of T. J. White touchdown passes. On the first score, Danny Hernandez took a short hitch pass and raced 54 yards up the left sideline for the score. The second score came as a result of a White scramble. Joe Pepple was able to slip behind the Oak Grove defensive back and haul in the 37 yard pass.
The momentum swung in the second quarter as Oak Grove scored three unanswered touchdowns to take a 21-14 halftime lead. The Panthers were able to move the ball with a combination of strong inside running, and bootleg passes. They also benefitted from a pair of very questionable calls by the officials. The first poor call gave them a 5th down, which they were able to convert into a first down. Facing a 4th and 7, the Oak Grove quarterback fumbled the snap and was downed by the Celtic defense. As the O'Hara offense was running onto the field the referee signalled 4th down again. He claimed there was an inadvertent whistle, but none of the officials knew who blew it and it was not heard on the game tape. Given the do-over, Oak Grove ran a draw for a first down, then went on to score. The second questionable call came on O'Hara's next offensive series. A complete pass to Hernandez was nullified by an illegal man down field call. The side judge claimed that Hernandez had illegally covered up the tight end by being on the line of scrimmage, thus making the tight end Pepple an illegal receiver. The game tape showed no penalty, as Hernandez was clearly off the line of scrimmage, and no lineman went down field. After the penalty, O'Hara faced a 3rd and long and threw an interception, giving Oak Grove good field position and leading to their second score.
The teams traded touchdowns in the 3rd quarter. O'Hara tied the game at 21-21 on a 17 yard run by James Tillman, then Oak Grove scored the game winning touchdown after O'Hara failed to convert on a 4th and 1 at mid field.
O'Hara had one good scoring opportunity in the 4th quarter as we moved inside the Oak Grove 30 yard line, but that was wiped out by back to back Oak Grove sacks. Oak Grove's defense kept the Celtics' running game bottled up all night, and put constant pressure on White.
White completed 10 of 15 passes in the game for 208 yard and two touchdowns. Pepple and Hernandez each had 4 receptions, and a touchdown. Pepple's catches made him O'Hara's all time leader in receptions with 44 for his career.
The defense was led in tackles by Louis Golden, Chuck Preston, and Tillman. Preston also forced and recovered an Oak Grove fumble.
O'Hara's record falls to 1-1, while Oak Grove stays undefeated at 2-0. O'Hara's next game is Friday, September 12th at O'Hara versus WCC opponent Warrensburg.
The momentum swung in the second quarter as Oak Grove scored three unanswered touchdowns to take a 21-14 halftime lead. The Panthers were able to move the ball with a combination of strong inside running, and bootleg passes. They also benefitted from a pair of very questionable calls by the officials. The first poor call gave them a 5th down, which they were able to convert into a first down. Facing a 4th and 7, the Oak Grove quarterback fumbled the snap and was downed by the Celtic defense. As the O'Hara offense was running onto the field the referee signalled 4th down again. He claimed there was an inadvertent whistle, but none of the officials knew who blew it and it was not heard on the game tape. Given the do-over, Oak Grove ran a draw for a first down, then went on to score. The second questionable call came on O'Hara's next offensive series. A complete pass to Hernandez was nullified by an illegal man down field call. The side judge claimed that Hernandez had illegally covered up the tight end by being on the line of scrimmage, thus making the tight end Pepple an illegal receiver. The game tape showed no penalty, as Hernandez was clearly off the line of scrimmage, and no lineman went down field. After the penalty, O'Hara faced a 3rd and long and threw an interception, giving Oak Grove good field position and leading to their second score.
The teams traded touchdowns in the 3rd quarter. O'Hara tied the game at 21-21 on a 17 yard run by James Tillman, then Oak Grove scored the game winning touchdown after O'Hara failed to convert on a 4th and 1 at mid field.
O'Hara had one good scoring opportunity in the 4th quarter as we moved inside the Oak Grove 30 yard line, but that was wiped out by back to back Oak Grove sacks. Oak Grove's defense kept the Celtics' running game bottled up all night, and put constant pressure on White.
White completed 10 of 15 passes in the game for 208 yard and two touchdowns. Pepple and Hernandez each had 4 receptions, and a touchdown. Pepple's catches made him O'Hara's all time leader in receptions with 44 for his career.
The defense was led in tackles by Louis Golden, Chuck Preston, and Tillman. Preston also forced and recovered an Oak Grove fumble.
O'Hara's record falls to 1-1, while Oak Grove stays undefeated at 2-0. O'Hara's next game is Friday, September 12th at O'Hara versus WCC opponent Warrensburg.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
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