Oaks knock off Mohawks, 21-14
Sep. 14—OAK HILL — Simply put, the Northwest Mohawks —banged up but fighting on — got burned twice by Braylon Howell.
Howell, one of the Oak Hill Oaks' top returnees, had a 63-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 7-7 — then scored on a one-yard dive with only 40 seconds remaining, lifting the Oaks to a 21-14 non-league football victory on Friday night at Davis Stadium in Oak Hill.
Garrett McKinniss made all three of his extra-point attempts for the Oaks, as Oak Hill had trailed 7-0 —as the Black and White won for the first time all season in its four tries.
The injury-riddled Mohawks, playing players out of normal position and undergoing a youth movement amid depth concerns, fell to 1-3.
The Mohawks hurt themselves further by fumbling twice in the red zone in the opening half, although they took a 7-0 advantage at the midway point of the second quarter—when Tanner Bolin scored on an 8-yard run and Jay Jenkins kicked the extra point.
But, just 10 seconds later and following the ensuing kickoff, Darrick Boggs hit Howell for the 63-yard scoring strike —as McKinniss made the extra point at the 5:46 mark.
Almost an entire quarter elapsed until Oak Hill finally took the lead, when Aidan Hall ran a carry in from three yards out midway in the third.
Over a dozen minutes later, almost 13 to be exact, it was Northwest's turn to tie it at 14-14 —when quarterback Austin Newman found the end zone from 23 yards away, and Jenkins converted his second extra-point kick.
The Mohawks, with that touchdown, took advantage of an Oaks' lost fumble.
However, Howell had a last laugh —plunging in from a yard to make it 21-14 with only 40 seconds showing.
That TD gave Howell 84 yards on 16 carries, as Hall had 10 carries for 56 yards —part of the Oaks' 130 rushing yards on 29 totes as a team.
Boggs completed 8-of-15 passes for 129 yards, throwing one interception but connecting with Howell for the touchdown — and McKinniss three times for 43 yards.
A 25-yard hookup from Boggs to McKinniss set up the final touchdown, as Nate Clutters caught four passes for 23.
The run-oriented Mohawks, without standout running back Brayden Campbell and fullback/linebacker Evan Lintz, got 112 yards on 14 carries from fullback Wyatt Brackman —and another 53 yards on 10 attempts from Bolin.
Newman completed 4-of-5 passes for 22 yards, including two to Bolin for six, as Bolin completed one pass to Newman.
The Mohawks return home, and return to non-league action, on Friday night when they face archrival Valley.
In week two, in an impromptu meeting, the host Indians rallied past Northwest for a 28-21 win —as the Mohawks suffered significant injuries in that game.
* * *
Northwest 0 7 0 7 —14
Oak Hill 0 7 7 7 —21
N —Tanner Bolin, 8-yard run (Jay Jenkins kick), 5:56, 2nd (7-0 N)
OH —Braylon Howell, 63-yard pass from Darrick Boggs (Garrett McKinniss kick), 5:46, 2nd (7-7 tie)
OH — Aidan Hall, 3-yard run (Garrett McKinniss kick), 6:10, 3rd (14-7 OH)
N— Austin Newman, 23-yard run (Jay Jenkins), 5:26, 4th (14-14 tie)
OH — Braylon Howell, 1-yard run (Garrett McKinniss kick), :40, 4th (21-14 OH)
----
Individual Leaders
RUSHING —Northwest: Wyatt Brackman 14-112, Tanner Bolin 10-53 TD, Zane Gilley 3-52, Hunter Armbrister 1-6, Jesse Copas 5-(-4), Austin Newman 6-(-1) TD; Oak Hill: Braylon Howell 16-84 TD, Aidan Hall 10-56 TD, Nate Clutters 1-(-3), Darrick Boggs 2-(-7)
PASSING — Northwest: Austin Newman 4-5-0-22, Tanner Bolin 1-1-0-2; Oak Hill: Darrick Boggs 8-15-1-129 TD
RECEIVING— Northwest: Darius Williams 1-8, Jesse Copas 1-8, Tanner Bolin 2-6, Austin Newman 1-2; Oak Hill: Braylon Howell 1-63 TD, Garrett McKinniss 3-43, Nate Clutters 4-23
© 2021 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved
