It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Oakleaf had no problem doing just that on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Mandarin Mustangs 17-14. This was payback for the Knights, who suffered an 18-7 defeat the last time these two teams met.
Oakleaf's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jack McKissock, who threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns while completing 81.3% of his passes. 111 of those passing yards were hauled in by Carlos Witherup, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Despite the loss, Mandarin saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Kemari Spriggs made 16 total tackles (1.5 for loss) and snagged an interception. The dominant performance also gave Knox Annis a new career-high in rushing yards (67).
Oakleaf has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. Those victories were due in large part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 10.8 points per game. As for Mandarin, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-4.
Oakleaf is taking a road trip to take on Nease at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Nease is coming into the matchup with five straight wins at home, so Oakleaf will have to stop a team with plenty of momentum. Mandarin does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
