MADISON — The Oxford Chargers once again played big against big competition, playing their third straight 6A opponent.  In the end, the Chargers came away with a big victory.

The Chargers overcame the Madison Central Jaguars by earning a 21-17 win.  The Jaguars  took the No. 1 team in Mississippi, Brandon, to the wire last week and came up short.

“We play as a team and come together and we knew that we had to win this game because we just have so much to play for in this game, so that just made us go harder,” running back Hiram Wadlington said.

John Reece McClure completed 17 of his 28 passes for 242 passing yards and threw two touchdown passes.

Barry Flowers had another great 100 plus yard receiving performance like last week against Starkville.  Flowers had seven catches for 156 yards and a 52 yard touchdown that proved to be the go ahead winning score in the closing minutes of the game.  DeDe Pegues bursted onto the scene for the first time this season, getting six catches for 75 yards and a touchdown to close out the first half.

On the ground, Wadlington led Oxford with 20 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown that game the Chargers their first lead of the ball game early in the third quarter.

The defense for Oxford continued to impress.  The Chargers kept Madison Central’s Jack Walker, one of the state’s top quarterbacks, and the Jaguars’ entire offense in check.  The Chargers’ defense allowed 231 of total offense to the Jaguars, 46 of those came from a touchdown pass from Walker to his receiver Hunter Blalock within the first two minutes of the ball game.

“We prepared for it,” cornerback Devin Rockette said.  “There was nothing that they showed us that they didn’t do.”

Quentin Wilfawn added more to an already plentiful number of tackles with 15 tackles in this game.  C.J Terrell earned 11 tackles and Cameron Bailey had nine tackles.

Extra Points

Turning Point:

Oxford’s best chance to score in the first half went up in smoke because of a fumble.  The Jaguars kicked a field goal with 1:12 left until halftime.  The Chargers needed a score going into halftime.  McClure and company had an impressive drive that reached the Jaguars’ red zone with just seconds to play in the 1st half.  McClure threw a back shoulder throw to Pegues for a 16 yard touchdown with five seconds left in the first half.  That score gave the Chargers momentum in the second half to eventually win.

Playmaker:

Barry Flowers made big plays in the second half to get the Chargers back in the game.  He had a 56 yard reception that was marked down a yard short of the end zone which led to a Wadlington score early in the third quarter.  Late in the fourth quarter, the Chargers found themselves trailing the Jaguars 17-14 with three minutes left in the game.  Flowers struck the Jaguars’ secondary again, McClure found Flowers deep and connected with him for a 52 yard touchdown that gave the Chargers the lead late in the game.

Talking Point:

“We feel like we can come out and compete with anybody.  When we are playing good and playing our game, there’s not much that can stop us,” McClure said.

Notes:

– Madison Central head coach Anthony Hart coached Lafayette to back to back state championships in 2010 and 2011, this game was the first time playing Hart since 2011.

– Wilfawn now has 52 tackles in three games

– Up next for the Chargers is the annual Crosstown Classic against the Lafayette Commodores