Oasis tops Ida Baker, 25-11, in annual Backyard Brawl
The Oasis Sharks football team, finally fully heathy this year, turned in its best performance of the season Friday night, taking down Ida Baker 25-11 in the second annual Backyard Brawl.
The Sharks team (2-6) found itself with a lead just 11 seconds into the game, as the Bulldogs (3-5) fumbled the opening kickoff, which was recovered in the end zone by Oasis’ Kevin Cisneros.
That early lead would never be relinquished throughout the contest, and the Sharks raised the Backyard Brawl trophy for the second consecutive year.
“We got a lot of guys back (this week), and it’s been a tough schedule, but we’re going to keep fighting always,” said Oasis head coach Brice Bearman. “This is the first time we’ve had our offensive line together since the first week.”
The Shark offensive line being fully healthy, as well as having two week to prepare, certainly showed Friday night. Oasis ran for 273 yards on the ground collectively, lead by Cisneros who collected 118 yards rushing on 18 attempts.
Following the opening kickoff touchdown for Oasis, its next score would come on the last play of the first quarter.
A Jaxon Reese interception got the Sharks the ball back, and the team broke off chunk run plays all the way down inside the Bulldog 10-yard line. It was senior Jackson Sabath who took a keeper around the right side and tiptoed inside the pylon to extend the Shark lead.
Ida Baker answered right back with a score of its own, as Aiden Graham knocked home a 35-yard field goal to get his team on the board.
The Sharks answered that score on the ensuing possession, with Cisneros taking a handoff 2 yards out and finding paydirt with a little over a minute to go before the break.
Receiving the ball to start the second half, the Sharks didn’t miss a beat, as the team continued to run the ball at will. Oasis converted two fourth downs en route to a Kaleb Stengel 6-yard touchdown catch from Sabath.
“They were huge,” Bearman said of the fourth down conversions.
Of the way Oasis ran the football on the night, Ida Baker head coach Cullen O’Brien said, “We’re continuing struggling with the same issues. Simply put, we do not get off the football. Our kids still have not learned to get off the football, and here we are in week nine and we’re still not getting off the football on both sides of the ball. We drill it, rep it, talk about it. I told them it’s the same problems. (Oasis) beat us off the ball and beat us at the line of scrimmage all night.”
There was no quit in the Bulldogs, though, as senior running back Nikolas Korf, who eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season in this game, got his legs churning and put Ida Baker into Shark territory. Korf is the second Bulldog to ever have 1,000 rushing yards in a season, and also set the record for most rushing yards in a season in Ida Baker history with more games to play.
Sophomore quarterback Brody Root found junior wideout Caelum Cragin for a 21-yard touchdown pass to make it a two-possession game with just under 8 minutes to go. Cragin finished the night with seven receptions for 86 yards.
Things got even more interesting as the Bulldogs recovered an onside sick after the touchdown, but were unable to do anything with the short field.
“It’s another step forward in our program,” O’Brien said of the team not giving up. “We saw it against Cape, too. We’re learning to fight, now we have to learn to finish. We’re too emotional and very young. We let the emotion play too much into things.”
O’Brien said his team had bad week of practice leading up to the game, with players more focused on trash talking the opponent rather than preparing.
“It was a very flat week of practice and it blew my mind,” he said. “You’re playing for a trophy and a rival that we can hear their practice. Just out here going through the motions. Intensity needs to pick up for us. We’ve got to do some soul searching this week as a team.”
Bearman, who worked at Ida Baker for 5 years, said both teams did a great job and fought hard.
“I love it. It’s awesome,” he said of the new annual rivalry game. “I know a lot of those guys over there. I’m just thrilled for everyone involved in this.”
Ida Baker takes on Mariner (2-6) at home this Friday, while Oasis doesn’t play next until Oct. 30.
1 2 3 4 F
IDA BAKER 0 3 0 8 — 11
OASIS. 12 6 7 0 — 25
1st Quarter
O: Kevin Cisneros, fumble recovery (kick fail); 11:49
O: Jackson Sabath, 9-yard run (kick fail); 0:00
2nd Quarter
IB: Aiden Graham, 35-yard field goal; 7:35
O: Cisneros, 2-yard run (2-point fail); 1:21
3rd Quarter
O: Kaleb Stengel, 6-yard reception from Sabath (kick); 2:58
4th Quarter
IB: Caelum Cragin, 21-yard reception from Brody Root (2-point good); 7:50
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com