The  2012 OHS football season opener tonight (Aug. 24) against Marquette was a nail biter. The game went back and forth, and came down to the final possessions before the Tigers walked off the field with a heartbreaking 10-9 loss to the visiting Mustangs.

The battle was defensive, with few big offensive plays for either side. The Tigers had numerous opportunites to score and were shut down by a tough Marquette defense.

The Tigers’ progress was “frustrating, it was unfortunate that we did so many good things,” OHS head coach Arlee Conners said. “We made too many mistakes in the endzone. We need to capitalize on these oportunities.”

Morris LaGrand (12) had two big rushes both of which came after his injury that occured with late in the third quarter. Marquette’s offensive was based primarily on pasing which is how the Mustangs’ only touchdown occured on their first offensive drive of the game. OHS’ only touchdown came with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first half when Derrick Brown scored on a 21-yard run.

The Tigers were driving for a possible game-winning score late in the fourth quarter. On third-and-goal from the 4-yard line, quarterback Andy Oliver (11) rolled left and threw a pass to Kaeon Brooks (12) in the corner of the endzone. However, Marquette’s Matt Scheibel intercepted the pass to kill the drive.

The defense fought hard against the tough Mustang offense. “We played, we tried our hardest,” linebacker Ben Howard (12) said. “There were a couple of bum calls and a couple of bum plays, but we gotta put this behind us and get a win next week at Parkway North.”

The Tigers play at Parkway North next Friday (Aug. 31) at 7 p.m.