The Oxford Charger football team reclaimed the Crosstown Classic trophy after getting embarrassed a season ago, 23-3 on their home turf. On Friday, the Chargers won in a 41-17 rout over Lafayette at William L. Buford Stadium.

Both quarterbacks for Oxford, junior John Reece McClure and sophomore John Meagher have seen about an equal share of playing time. For this one, McClure got the start and played the majority of the game other than a few drives that were given to Meagher.

McClure had an efficient game going six-for-eight for 91 passing yards and three passing touchdowns giving him a near perfect quarterback rating of 151.6 while Meagher went a perfect five-for-five for 45 yards.

“(McClure) executed really well and made great decisions all night,” second year head coach Chris Cutcliffe said. “He took care of the football and did a lot of great things. I was really proud of the way he played tonight.”

The running game was a big success for the Charger offense as the team ran for 232 yards on 31 rushing attempts. Senior Hiram Wadlington led the charge in the rushing department going for 147 yards on just 14 carries, giving him 10.5 yards per carry. Backup sophomore running back K.J. Wadley also tacked on a touchdown on five carries and 40 yards.

“I give the credit to the offensive line,” Wadlington said. “They never get much credit but they do the dirty work for me.”

Senior Demarea Burt had a good night as he was on the receiving end of two of McClure’s touchdowns. Burt totaled for 47 yards on four receptions. Senior Joe O’Keefe caught his first touchdown of the season, a 39-yard connection from McClure in the fourth quarter.

Cutcliffe credited the Charger defense in the win as the Commodores offense could not get going all night. The Commodores quarterback Randy Anderson went just 14 of 29 for 106 yards and a touchdown pass and also a rushing touchdown.

Senior linebacker Quentin Wilfawn led the Charger defense in tackles with 12 total tackles. Seniors Jay Frierson, Jaquanzi Johnson, and C.J. Terrell all added 10 tackles individually.

“Our defensive game plan was to stop the run,” defensive coordinator Stan Robertson said. “We knew that they would not beat us throwing the ball. We will fix the minor coverage issues that allowed Lafayette to get that many passing yards.”

The Chargers improve to 3-1 as they will come back home to host the unbeaten Pontotoc Warriors while Lafayette drops to 0-4 heading into a bye week.