Battle of The Undefeateds

Battle+of+The+Undefeateds

Matt Warner, writer

Two undefeated teams come together November 3rd to see who the dominant one is.  Oakdale, who has beat one of the most difficult teams of their schedule, Middletown 24-17, has also defeated past powerhouse, Linganore 28-9.  Along with those two, Oakdale has taken away another team’s undefeated record, Kent Island, beating them 49-27.

Walkersville, on the other hand, has been harshly winning since September 1st, scoring an average of 54.4 points per game,and are also 8-0. They have demolished the star defenses of, Tuscarora

Oakdale’s offense is lead by junior quarterback Colin Schlee, senior wide receiver and team captain Bryce DeMaille, and junior running back Simeon Sabvute. The Oakdale offensive line has been creating big holes for Sabvute, giving Schlee hours of time to pass to his favorite target, DeMaille.

The offensive line averaging 219 pounds, may be fast, but they have to go up against  Walkersville’s defensive line Oakdale’s defense has been standing tall through all adversity so far this season, holding Governor Thomas Johnson to one touchdown last week, and allowing only 104 points scored against them at this point in the season.

Major plays that had to have happened for Oakdale to claim victory on Friday. Shutting down the running game starting with Jacob Wetzel, Walkersville’s running back and safety, who rushed for 150 yards on just five carries and two touchdowns. Their other two high octane runners are Ty Littleton and Christian Policelli, who had a combined yardage of 254 yards, 21 total carries, and 6 touchdowns combined last week.

The other major key to beating Walkersville is installing a permanent “No Fly Zone”. In the Wooten game on Friday, October 20, the Walkersville quarterback threw 5 for 8, had 122 yards, 63 of which were from Josh Polce, the 6’3” and 205 pound senior wide receiver.

The Walkersville defensive secondary is another obstacle; they established a “No Fly Zone” last game against a team with a quarterback from Wooten who has thrown for 2,400 yards total and 25 touchdowns. Jacob Wetzel, Hunter Cleaver, and Ethan Parrish all are incredibly capable of capitalizing and causing turnovers. With Wetzel having 1 of 2 interceptions (other taken by Hunter Cleaver) and Parish picking up a forced fumble and returning it for a 1 of the 10 touchdowns of the night.

Oakdale’s latest game against Governor Thomas Johnson brought upon a crisp first team offense, with a dominant effort from the second team as well. They had been up 21-0 in the first quarter, and running the score up to 49-0 before halftime. It was a team with a record of 0-8.

DeMaille commented on what he feels the team needs to do this week in practice, “This game is going to be a fist fight from start to finish. We (the Bears) cannot underestimate this team, they are 8-0 not just by luck, they have playmakers and so do we. It comes down to focus in practice, and keeping our foot on the gas all week.”

In a quote from line coach and offensive coordinator for the Bears, Adam Wetzel, “Walkersville likes to come out and punch teams in the mouth on the first play, and make them not want to play anymore. Wootton stopped trying on the third play of the game and they just started running away with it”.

 

This is going to be the biggest game of Oakdale’s season, 7:00 pm, Friday, October 27th. Make sure to wish your Bears good luck in their efforts, and come out to see the game.