Oxford runs win streak to 22 in a row, captures Region 1-6A football title

OXFORD — No. 2 Oxford finished off an undefeated regular season with a 25-14 win over Tupelo on senior night. The Chargers extended their win streak to 22 games

OXFORD — No. 2 Oxford finished off an undefeated regular season with a 25-14 win over Tupelo on senior night.

The Chargers extended their win streak to 22 games spanning over two seasons heading into a first-round playoff matchup against Madison Central. Oxford claimed the Region 1-6A title with their win Friday night. According to Oxford head coach Chris Cutcliffe, this is the first goal on a list of many things they wanted to accomplish this season.

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“The opportunity to play at home in the playoffs is something you always strive for,” Cutcliffe said. “We have a great opportunity in front of us, but we know that we have a great challenge in front of us no matter who we play from Region 2.”

Special teams were a big part of Oxford's come-from-behind win. The Chargers blocked two punts — one was recovered for a touchdown and the other was recovered on the one-yard line, leading to a short Oxford touchdown.

“That’s all on me,” Tupelo coach Ty Hardin said about the special teams woes. “I’m the head coach and I’m basically over special teams so this loss is all on me. We knew they were going to bring a lot of pressure and we should’ve had a better plan for that. We had some other plans, but we didn’t get to use them because of field position.”

Tupelo’s offense had a great start, but the Golden Wave weren’t able to finish drives. They settled for field goals and took an early six-point lead into halftime but weren’t able to generate anything in the second half. According to Hardin, some of that had to do with his teams’ youth.

“That has a lot to do with our maturity,” Hardin said. “We just didn’t capitalize in certain moments and if you turn three into seven then this is probably an entirely different ballgame.”

Junior quarterback Michael Harvey got most of the playing time for Oxford. The Chargers couldn’t really establish an offensive rhythm at any point. According to Harvey, they have to be better on offense in order to keep playing.

“We have to be a lot better than we were tonight,” Harvey said. “We have to get back to work and fix our mistakes and come back out prepared to play better next week.”

Oxford will host Madison Central next week to kick off the 6A playoffs. According to Cutcliffe, the Jaguars will present a unique challenge.

“Everyone is 0-0 and it’s time to play your best football,” Cutcliffe said. “We have a big challenge in front of us and they’re going to be very well coached. It’s going to be a real challenge.”

-- Walker Bailey