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Oswego comes back to top rival East
Updated: September 17, 2011 12:10AM
The gap in the rivalry between the Oswego and Oswego East football programs is closing, but Oswego gets to hold onto bragging rights for at least one more year.
East had never beaten the Panthers prior to Friday’s meeting at Ken Pickerill Stadium, but for a while it looked like the Wolves might pick up its first win in seven tries after rolling to a 21-7 lead in the second quarter. But the Oswego offense got rolling and a stout defense turned the tables as the host Panthers rolled off 28 unanswered points on the way to a 35-28 win.
“Coach told us to man up, and I’m not going to lie, in that first half we came out a little bit flat,” said Oswego quarterback Ryan West, who threw for 260 yards and two scores. “At halftime coach lit a fire under us and we came out shooting.”
It was the Wolves that got off to the quick start, taking the opening kickoff and moving the football 68 yards in 7:23 with Chris Cooper scoring on a 3-yard plunge to give East the 7-0 lead. Cooper, who finished with a game-high 112 yards rushing, scored two more times in the first half, making it a 21-7 game on a 1-yard run with 7:20 to go in the second quarter.
The Panthers took over from there, though. Brett Wainright started the run with a 3-yard run with 3:18 left in the half, then Oswego hit paydirt three more times in the second half. Mickeel Stewart (12 rushes, 93 yards) scored on runs of one and 15 yards, which were bookends to a West-to-Josh Mapalo, 43-yard scoring strike that gave the Panthers the lead for good at 28-21.
“We took care of the football, played a little bit better defense and executed offensively,” said Oswego coach Dave Keely. “There is no panic in the kids because they know if they stick together they can pull through any adversity.”
The Panther defense held the Wolves to 129 yards of offense in the second half, 60 of which came when Dakota Skenandore (234 total yards) scrambled around and hit Chase Skenandore on a deep ball to cap the game’s scoring with 6:31 to play. East got two more chances to tie the game, but Shane Gauden and Jay Bodine both came up with interceptions for Oswego to stop the drives.
“The defense played well,” Keely said. “They hung in there and it was bend and not break and keep us in the game the entire way. I was proud of them.”
Both teams now stand at 2-2 on the year. Oswego is 2-0 in Southwest Prairie conference play, while East falls to 1-1.
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