After losing twice to Marquette last season, one of which knocked the Tigers out of the playoffs, OHS got its revenge on the Mustangs Friday Night (Aug. 30). OHS won 27-21, scoring the game winning touchdown with 45 seconds left in the game.

After Marquette tied the game with a long touchdown pass with just under two minutes to go in the game, it looked as if the Tigers might have lost their opportunity to strike revenge against the Mustangs. This year, unlike last years playoff game, the Tigers were able to overcome the disappointment of a late Marquette touchdown. With all three timeouts and over a minute and a half left the Tigers took the field with confidence. After completing a few short passes quarterback Andy Oliver (12) was ready to take a shot deep down field. With 45 seconds left in the nail biting game, Oliver threw a 48 yard bomb to Carvon Robinson (11) for the game winning touchdown.

“That was a team that beat us twice last year by three points and to go to their place and pull out a victory, we showed the character needed to win,” said head coach Arlee Conners.

Both teams showed some rust and fatigue in the first half. Penalty flags flew from the officials hands and the heat took its toll on both teams after having a very mild summer. The Tigers entered halftime with a 8-7 lead. The second half started with a six minute drive by OHS that led to a short touchdown rush by Kyle Hearn (12), who had two touchdowns and a solid performance in his first game as starting running back.
The Tigers defense played well after having to replace nine defensive starters who the team lost to graduation. The defense only gave up two long touchdowns. They had key stops in their own territory in the fourth quarter keeping the game close and stopped Marquette in the final seconds to secure the 27-21 victory.

“It is always good to start the year off with a win, it shows all the work over the summer was worth it, and we had a lot of challenges and we pushed through them and I am very proud of the team,” Conners said.

The Tigers have their first home game this Friday (Sept. 6) against Parkway North. The game starts at 7pm.