OAK HARBOR — Sophomore running back Princeton Lollar gutted the Kennedy Catholic defense for 214 yards and three touchdowns to lead Oak Harbor to a 34-14 win over the visiting Lancers Friday in a Class 3A Quad-District playoff game.
The win carried Oak Harbor into the state playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Wildcats will face the winner of Peninsula/Lakeside next weekend in the round of 16.
Lollar, who carried the ball 30 times, pounded the heart of the Lancer defense while running mate Dejon Devroe attacked the outside for 137 yards on 15 carries. In all, Oak Harbor piled up 426 yards of total offense while limiting Kennedy Catholic to 215.
Jr. Ngauamo led the Lancers with 106 yards on 18 carries.
Eighth-ranked and undefeated Kennedy Catholic, the Seamont League champion, entered the game averaging 45 points a game while giving up just five.
After the teams traded punts, Devroe set up Oak Harbor’s first score with a 39-yard run. Lollar finished the drive with a 4-yard rush.
Kennedy Catholic went 65 yards in six plays to even the game, then after recovering a Wildcat fumble at the Oak Harbor 34-yard line, took the lead with a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter.
Oak Harbor then blunted the Kennedy running attack and ran off 27 unanswered points.
First Lollar scored from the 5, then after a Lancer punt, quarterback Clay Doughty connected with Dyllan Harris for a 19-yard score, giving the Wildcats a 21-14 lead at the break.
Early in the fourth quarter, Devroe scored from 4 yards out.
Kennedy threatened to get back into the game but fumbled inside the Oak Harbor 20 with six minutes left.
The Wildcats put the game away with a 10-play, 85-yard march capped by Lollar’s third score, this one from the 7.
The Lancers (9-1) committed four turnovers in their final five possessions, two coming on Harris interceptions.
The Wildcats also shut down the Lancer rushing attack that moved the ball in chunks early in the game.
They went to their “contingency plan,” coach Jay Turner said, switching to a three-man front with the nose tackle playing on his feet.
He said the three-man front was also a result of the Wildcats losing three lineman to injuries early in the game.
The Wildcat offense was a heavy dose of the 225-pound Lollar, who Turner labeled a “work horse.”
Lollar called the win a team effort, adding “we work hard every week; do whatever it takes to get the ‘W.’”
Turner said, “We did a good job against a very physical Kennedy team.”
Oak Harbor (7-1) has stumbled in the quad-district games in recent years. Turner said, “It is nice to get the money off our back. It’s nice for these kids.”
At Oak Harbor H.S.
Kennedy Catholic 7 7 0 0 —14
Oak Harbor 7 14 0 13 —34
OH—Princeton Lollar 4 run (Mark Johnston kick)
KC—Jr. Ngauamo 10 run (Marco Calderon kick)
KC—Jr. Ngauamo 4 pass from Jacob Thurber (Calderon kick)
OH—Lollar 5 run (Johnston kick)
OH—Dyllan Harris 19 pass from Clay Doughty (Johnston kick)
OH—Dejon Devroe 4 run (Johnston kick)
OH—Lollar 7 run (kick failed)
Records—Kennedy Catholic 8-1. Oak Harbor 7-1.
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