(Photo courtesy of Cynthia Hills)
SEDAN — For a sixth straight year, Sedan took down South Central Border League foe Oxford. This time around, the Blue Devils dominated from start to finish in a 48-0 thumping of the Wildcats Friday night at Prather Field.
The contest was called early in the third quarter due to the eight-man mercy rule.
“It’s always good to get a win, especially when you play well doing it,” said SHS coach Mick Holt. “We still need to polish up some things, but this was a step in the right direction.”
The Blue Devils were coming off a 52-14 home loss to St. Paul one week earlier. With Friday’s victory, they moved to 1-1 overall heading into their Sept. 20 road game at Marmaton Valley. The Wildcats enter that game at 0-2 following a 50-0 loss at Oswego.
Meanwhile, Oxford, which earned a 22-12 home win over Central of Burden last week, dropped to 1-1 on the season. The Wildcats will return home on Sept. 20 to entertain Flinthills — 0-2 following a 52-6 loss at Caldwell.
Sedan has dominated its series with Oxford in recent years. Not only was this a sixth straight win for the Blue Devils, but they also beat the Wildcats for the 11th time in the last 14 matchups.
SHS wasted little time taking control of the game, striking for 20 points in the first quarter. Tayte Halderman got things started with touchdown runs of 39 and three yards. Dameion Hatten followed with a nine-yard scamper into the end zone for a 20-0 lead.
The Blue Devils blew the game wide open before halftime. Eli Campbell, who recorded a game-high 129 yards on six carries, broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run. Halderman then found Hatten for a 36-yard scoring strike. Then before the intermission, Halderman recorded his third rushing touchdown on a 46-yard run, giving the Blue Devils a 42-0 edge at the break.
Sedan quickly ended the game after the break. On just the third play from scrimmage, Halderman picked off an Oxford pass and returned it 20 yards for a score to end the game on the mercy rule.
SHS racked up 313 total yards of offense, including 261 on the ground. In addition to Campbell, Halderman also surpassed the century mark rushing with 127 yards on seven attempts.
Oxford was limited to just 80 total yards.