By Tony Catalina
NEFJ Correspondent

OXFORD – It was a tale of two halves in Oxford Friday night.

What started off as a bit of a defensive struggle in the first quarter turned into an offensive onslaught from there on. A game that saw a scoreless tie through one quarter ended with a total of 66 points and a 51-15 West Boylston thrashing when it was all said and done.

The Lions (6-0) sustained methodical drives with a dynamic rushing attack that allowed them to gash the Pirates (5-1) almost at will at times, while boasting a tough run defense all night.

After scoring 21 points at the half, the Lions were able to tack on another 30 points in the final two quarters and scored in bunches as the offensive output came without a score at all in the first quarter. The Lions were carried by a big performance by junior running back John Ruaz who finished with three touchdowns on the night.

Ruaz discussed the difference of approach from the team in the two halves.

“Honestly, we just needed to play harder,” he said. “Every half we need to come out stronger and just better…definitely, for sure, we are coming out strong, I believe we can come out stronger and be better every day.”

Head Coach Mike Ross understands he has a good team, but knows the challenges that lie ahead.

“We got Lunenburg next week and they’re really good, so our schedule for a small school is one of the toughest schedules in the state.” Ross said. “Next week we got another tough game. We responded good, we played hard nose football. We have a lot of respect for Oxford, I thought the kids played tough tonight.”

In addition to Ruaz, Connor Muldoon had a big night as well, picking up a long touchdown run and an interception on defense to stop a promising Pirates drive. Jamie McNamara and Bobby Humphrey were able to get in the end zone as well.