By Gavin Oliver
Courtesy The Journal

CENTRAL­ — It was Homecoming for the Daniel High School football team as it hosted the West-Oak Warriors at Singleton Field on Friday night. While all the pomp and circumstance of the ceremonies offered plenty of distraction for the Lions, the unit stayed focused on its prize — a victory to begin region play.

Daniel (3-1, 1-0 Western 3A) not only accomplished its goal, but did it in record-breaking fashion.

The Lions scored 11 touchdowns en route to a 76-0 shutout, breaking the prestigious school’s single-game record of 72 points.

The defense was nothing short of spectacular either, holding the Warriors (0-4, 0-1) to a slim 21 yards of total offense.

The Daniel defense also put points on the board itself when a Deleetric Greenlee interception was returned 19 yards to the house. The offense had more to thank them for, however.

“(Our offense) had a lot of short fields, so you have to give credit to the special teams and defense,” Daniel head coach Randy Robinson said. “We had three or four drives that were less than 40 yards, and the great field position made the play-calling really easy.”

A large majority of those plays involved the dynamic duo of running back Jae’lon Oglesby and wide receiver Adrien Dunn. The two contributed 217 of the 260 total yards the Lions accumulated in the first half before giving way to backups during the final 24 minutes.

Daniel’s first play of the game was a sign of things to come, resulting in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Andy McCall to Dunn. Oglesby then put the Lions ahead by two scores with an 11-yard run four minutes later.

Almost as if he was battling Oglesby for statistical bragging rights, Dunn scored twice more in the first quarter, including a 61-yard punt return. Oglesby proceeded to score three more times in the game, with the highlight being a 51-yard run that put his team ahead by 55.

“(They’re) special guys. No one knew about Jae’lon but us last year until he burst onto the scene with 1,700 yards,” Robinson said. “And Adrien is the ultimate team player and is finally getting to showcase his skills.”
West-Oak was unable to answer the offensive production of the Lions’ duo, largely due to the fact that the nucleus of its offense was physically unable to perform.

Star running back Dustin Wilkes, coming off a shoulder sprain suffered against Pendleton in Week 2, attempted to play but was not able to run full-speed and therefore unable to handle his usual workload.

The remaining core of the offense, quarterback Joe Hart and center Josh Moore, were wiped out during the physical contest as well.

West-Oak head coach Jay Brannon was proud of his team for fighting so hard against a school that has donned the Western 3A crown four of the last five years.

“They had every reason to roll over,” Brannon said. “But they fought and put the true meaning in the ‘Warriors’ written across their chest. I salute them for that.”