Oakdale Celebrates 30-22 Victory Over Wartburg
By Terry Futrell
Thankfully, style points are not factored into the football records, which will simply show the Oakdale Eagles defeating the Wartburg Bulldogs 30-22. At times this game was ugly, permeated with interceptions, fumbles, and penalties by both teams. But in the end, it was Oakdale that celebrated the thrill of victory and nothing can take that away. It was the first time that Oakdale had defeated Wartburg since 2016 – no player on this Eagle team had ever beaten Wartburg or even scored against the Bulldogs while in high school.
As some folks anticipated, this was a very competitive matchup. Defense controlled the game during the first quarter, and neither team could score. Finally, with 7:24 to go in the second quarter, Oakdale quarterback Tyler Boyer connected with Eloy Vera on an 18-yard pass for the Eagles’ first score. Boyer ran the 2-point conversion and the Eagles led 8-0.
Wartburg wasted no time in responding and quickly drove to the Oakdale 36-yard line. At that point Chris Flowers broke through the center of the Oakdale line and took it to the end zone for Wartburg’s first score at 5:20 in the second quarter. Flowers then rushed for the 2-point conversion and tied the score 8-8.
Oakdale once again drove downfield, and Timmy Holder ran from seven yards out for an Eagle touchdown with only 20 seconds remaining in the half. Oakdale failed on the conversion attempt and took a 14-8 lead into the locker room at the half.
Both teams struggled offensively until Oakdale’s Timmy Holder scored on a 30-yard pass from Tyler Boyer at 6:57 in the third quarter. The duo also connected on the 2-point conversion to give Oakdale a 22-8 lead.
Wartburg struggled to counter, and it looked as if Oakdale would cruise to the finish, but turnovers by Oakdale on two successive drives in the fourth quarter resulted in two Bulldog touchdowns. The first came when Oakdale was driving deep in Wartburg territory. Wartburg’s Tyler Davis intercepted a Tyler Boyer pass and returned it 75 yards for a Bulldog score at 8:22 in the fourth quarter. Chris Flowers ran for the 2-point conversion and the Bulldogs trailed 22-16.
The second critical turnover occurred when Oakdale fumbled, and the Bulldogs recovered. Wartburg drove to the Eagle red zone, then Tyler Davis connected with a wide-open Damon Duncan for 15 yards and a Wartburg touchdown, tying the score at 22-22 with 4:42 remaining in the game. The conversion failed and Oakdale had one last opportunity to score.
Refusing to give up, as has been characteristic of the Eagle team this season, Oakdale drove the ball to the Wartburg 5-yard line. The Eagles pulled off a miracle on the drive. Faced with fourth down, Tyler Boyer connected on a long pass with Sydney Gregory, who was covered by three Bulldogs. From the 5-yard line, Timmy Holder ran for a touchdown to put the Eagles ahead 28-22. Tyler Boyer connected with Eloy Vera in the right corner for the 2-point conversion and the Eagles led 30-22 with one minute of playing time remaining.
The Eagles defense held on Wartburg’s final drive and Oakdale took the victory 30-22. The win gives the Eagles a 3-1 season start, their best since 2014. Wartburg is now 0-4 for the season.
Oakdale Coach J.R. Voyles, always in control of his emotions, had this to say about his team’s victory, “It’s a big one for the boys, I mean, look at this excitement right here. This is what high school football is about!”
While several players produced some good stats for the game, kudos go to Oakdale quarterback Tyler Boyer who completed 19 of 29 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Timmy Holder rushed 14 times for 54 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 45 yards and one touchdown. Eloy Vera rushed nine times for 39 yards and caught two passes for 28 yards and one touchdown.
For the Bulldogs, Tyler Davis completed seven of 21 passes for 55 yards and one touchdown. Davis also rushed seven times for 31 yards. Defensively, Davis intercepted a pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. Damon Duncan caught four passes for the Bulldogs for 28 yards and one touchdown. Chris Flowers rushed six times for 46 yards and one touchdown. Peyton Hooks rushed six times for 36 yards.
Penalties were a major factor in the Bulldogs loss. Wartburg was penalized 12 times for 179 yards, often with multiple penalties coming in succession. Late in the third quarter, the Bulldogs had the ball 2nd down and 55 yards to go on their own 17-yard line as the result of penalties. In contrast, Oakdale was penalized only eight times for 59 yards.
Oakdale travels to face a tough Coalfield team next week, while Wartburg plays at Midway.
Thanks to Austin “Spanky” Swint for game stats.