Overdue reunion: Oakmont upends Gardner as old football rivals renew acquaintances

GARDNER – “Reunited and it feels so good,” sang Peaches & Herb about a breakup and make-up story decades before the Gardner Wildcats and Oakmont Spartans got back together Friday night on the football field for the first time since 2019.

Peaches & Herb? Maybe only the officials on Watkins Field and the grandparents and parents in the stands would remember that popular musical duo.

Still, after a four-year separation, the players on both teams had many reasons to feel good about this renewed neighborhood grid get-together, a tight defensive battle won by Oakmont, 13-6.

With only Thanksgiving Eve games left, the Spartans pulled even on the season to 5-5 while the Wildcats are now 8-2, destined for the best Gardner football record since 2011.

The surprise week 10 matchup, after the Wildcats were ousted from the Div. 5 playoffs in Tyngsborough a week earlier, had exciting action and plenty of good plays, keeping hundreds of fans watching until the very end, a scenario that will perhaps lead to more Oakmont-Gardner games on future fall schedules.

“This was awesome, everything it was prepped up to be,” said Oakmont coach Dave Kaizer. “A great atmosphere, a great game with lots of intensity.  Gardner is a great, high scoring team, but we ran the football well, controlled the clock and that was key. Our defense was playing so well, I knew that 13-6 would hold up as the second half played out.”

Gardner coach Sean Whittle, although pleased with his team’s defense, said, “Offensively we struggled tonight, and dropped too many passes. But this was still a very good game for people to come out and see.”

Whittle added, “After eight straight big wins, we got into two physical battles the last two weeks and it just shows us that our program needs to get a little more physical in the future. We are still happy winning the league title and we’re looking forward to playing Quabbin the night before Thanksgiving.”

All the scoring Friday night came in the second quarter when the Spartans scored twice and the Wildcats once in the 41st meeting (38 played on Thanksgiving) dating to the first between the schools way back in 1980. Oakmont now leads the series 27-14.

Beginning late in the first quarter from its own 29-yard line, Oakmont staged a 71-yard drive mainly on the ground, ending with sophomore quarterback David Roy’s 4-yard keeper over right tackle for a touchdown. Senior Sam Curtis booted the extra point for the 7-0 lead.

The Wildcats answered with a 70-yard drive of their own, highlighted by the strong running of junior Ayden Sparrow and a 42-yard pass play from junior quarterback Alex Figueroa to junior Dakota Wells to the Oakmont 33.

From there, the Wildcats marched confidently in the red zone in six plays ending with Figueroa’s TD leap with the football over the goal line from a yard out. A two-point pass play failed, but the Wildcats had pulled to 7-6 with just over seven minutes left in the first half.

Playing solid on defense for the Wildcats, keeping the Spartans from the end zone were tenacious tacklers Evans Cesaire, Alex Doucette, Rocco Roy, Jayvon Tessier and Cookie Leger.

Still, the Spartans increased their lead after another good drive from midfield, sparked by the powerful rushes of junior Harris Fagan and the accurate passes of Roy. From the 11, Curtis took a handoff, quickly swept around the right end for the TD and boosted Oakmont to a 13-6 lead, the extra point falling short and right of the mark with only two minutes left in the first half.

“All week at practice we worked hard getting ready for this game and we all wanted it, especially playing Gardner,” said Curtis afterward. “We all knew about the tradition of playing Gardner for 40 years and all the Thanksgiving Day games. We did a good job against a very good offensive team with a quarterback who can throw the rock to some great receivers. Now it’s on to play Lunenburg.”

After Curtis’ touchdown, the score stuck to the end, with both teams threatening in the second half and neither hitting pay dirt.

Gardner’s best chance to tie or go ahead came after recovering an Oakmont fumble after the kickoff to start the second half. The Wildcats had the ball on the Oakmont 20, but were stopped by the inspired defensive pressure of the Spartans included Logan Smith, Caden Bennett, Max Stone, Silas Roy, Chaim Mazzola and Nick O’Leary.

“That was the key point of the game,” said Whittle. “If we had scored early in the second half things would have been a lot different.”

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Oakmont tops Gardner as old football rivals renew acquaintances