Featured Photograph: Opelousas Catholic quarterback Mark Collins is chased down by Oak Grove lineman Gunner Hale. (Photograph by Freddie Herpin.)
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
The difference between illusion and reality for the Opelousas Catholic football team became evident during a painful 48 minutes Friday night at Donald Gardner Stadium.
If the Vikings had thoughts of establishing a dominant beginning for the 2022 football season, Oak Grove put those notions away early while prolonging the agony with a convincing 53-18 opening-game win over OCS.
“I guess these guys (OCS) were feeling pretty good about themselves after a good scrimmage and what they showed in the jamboree, but (Friday night) they had a wake-up call,” said OCS head coach Thomas David.
David pointed to a number of issues such as three lost fumbles that Oak Grove converted into touchdowns.
The Tigers also obtained 401 total offensive yards, as quarterback Jackson Bradley completed 10 of 16 passes.
OCS aided much of the Oak Grove yardage, with an abundance of missed tackles that occurred primarily in the secondary.
The Vikings finished with 196 rushing yards and another 23 throwing.
David added that he was most concerned about the Vikings’ turnovers which provided Oak Grove with scoring opportunities.
“You can’t fumble away chances and give a team like (Oak Grove) chances to win. We knew physical size would be an issue for us, as well as facing a team whose skill players weren’t going both ways. I thought tempo was also an issue, as we never were able to get control of that,” David added.
The Vikings never led and by halftime Oak Grove was securely in control, 47-12.
After the Tigers scored on their first possession, OCS drove 65 yards in nine plays. Quarterback Mark Collins ran for 24 yards and completed an 18-yard throw to receiver Chris Brown. Collins scored on an eight yard run.
That whiff of momentum however didn’t last long.
Bradley answered the Vikings’ touchdown with a 9-yard run with 15 seconds remaining in the first quarter and afterward that things began to disintegrate for OCS.
Defensive back Spencer Foster scooped up an OCS fumble on the first snap of the second quarter and returned the ball 43 yards for a second Tigers’ TD in a matter of 39 seconds as Oak Grove moved in front 21-6.
David thought the fumble return was perhaps the key play in the game, especially since later in the period the Tigers scored two more times during the final five minutes and 12 seconds.
“The fumble return for the score was a really big play for (Oak Grove) and for us. It seemed as though we could never get much done after that,” David said.
Brown was the leading rusher for the Vikings with 82 yards on 10 attempts.
What’s next? Opelouas Catholic goes to Ascension Catholic Friday night.
