The score may say blowout but it does little to fairly portray how close this game was at times. Keeping the score close well into the third quarter, the Sharon Eagles had their chances against the Plymouth South Panthers but could not handle a four touchdown performance from Dylan Oxsen in the 35-7 loss.
Things started to look good for the Eagles early in the first quarter when Oxsen was stopped on a fourth and one at the Sharon 19-yard line but a fumble on the next play returned the ball to the Panthers.
Anthony Schena would take advantage of the turnover, scoring on a 16-yard touchdown run with 5:19 left in the first quarter.
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With both teams keeping the ball on the ground during a windy evening, Plymouth was able to use long drives to keep the Sharon offense on the sideline for most of the first half.
One of Sharon’s few chances in the first half came at the start of the second quarter when the Eagles were able to force a fumble out of Oxsen. Sharon however, were forced to punt from their own 39-yard line after a three and out.
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The lead was extended to 14-0 after a six minute, 15-play drive resulted in a 19-yard touchdown from Oxsen with 2:01 left in the half.
With the start of the second half, the Eagles wasted little time getting on the board. Giving the ball to Evantz Elisma on each rushing play during the drive, a five-yard run from the senior running back cut the lead in half with 7:42 left in the third quarter and put life back into the underdogs.
As fast as Sharon was back in the game, the Panthers pulled away almost immediately. With 35 unanswered points, it was almost if the Sharon touchdown was a wake up call for the top seeded Panthers.
On Plymouth South’s first play after the Sharon touchdown, the lead returned to 14 after Oxsen broke away on a 68-yard touchdown pass with 7:19 left in the third quarter.
After a Sharon three and out, the Panthers responded with another touchdown set up by a 78-yard run by Oxsen. After the run, Oxsen finished the job, rushing into the end zone from just beyond the goal line with 4:41 left in the third quarter.
Oxsen’s final touchdown came on a 16-yard run with 6:13 left.
The 2-6 Eagles will now host Silver Lake next week in a non-tournament matchup.
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