It took Brady Davis two and a half quarters to figure it out.
But once New Hope’s high school freshman quarterback did, the Trojans couldn’t be stopped.
Behind the arm of James and a strong effort by the defense, the New Hope football team defeated Oxford 43-22 Friday night in a Class 5A, Region 1 game at Trojan Field.
Davis threw for 71 yards and a touchdown in the first half, but he turned it around in the second half with 211 yards passing.
“(Oxford’s defense) was crowding the box, trying to take away the running game,” New Hope coach Michael Bradley said. “Our receivers started catching the ball, our offensive line started giving (James) enough time, and he made some throws. I’m proud of him. He played great, and I think grew up a little bit.”
Oxford (3-3, 1-1 region) took a 15-9 lead — their only one of the evening — with 5 minutes, 19 seconds left in the third quarter. It was short-lived, as New Hope finally hit its stride with a four-play, 81-yard scoring drive. Running back Jameel Johnson (131 rushing yards, two touchdowns) capped the drive with a 31-yard touchdown run.
New Hope (4-2, 2-0) scored 21 points between the 3:53 mark in the third quarter and the 10:34 mark in the fourth quarter to pull away.
“It was good to see some success on offense,” Bradley said.
Davis had three touchdown passes, and wide receiver James Hill had six receptions for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Daniel Gregory also had a touchdown reception on a 23-yard strike at the beginning of the fourth quarter that ended the Trojans’ second-half scoring burst.
The New Hope held Oxford to only 53 yards passing. Running backs Jarquis Adams and Mont Dean combined for 148 yards rushing to lead the offense. Dean scored two touchdowns in the second half. Stan Ivey also had a touchdown to cut the Trojans’ lead to 9-7.
“I thought New Hope outplayed us,” Oxford coach Johnny Hill said. “They played for four quarters, and we played in spurts.”
New Hope’s defense and special teams helped it take the early lead. The Trojans forced a safety on a bad punt snap by Oxford and then scored a touchdown with 6:20 left on a 19-yard strike from Davis to Hill to take a 9-0 lead.
Oxford scored only once in the first half despite starting drives inside or near New Hope territory multiple times.
“The defense did an outstanding job in the first half,” Bradley said. “They stopped (Oxford’s offense) a couple of times when they were close and made the plays.”
Oxford blocked a field goal attempt in the third quarter and ran the recovery back to the Trojans’ 11-yard line. Dean scored two plays later to give Oxford a 15-9 lead.
After New Hope’s offensive outbreak, Dean scored again on a 57-yard run with 2:36 left in the game.
New Hope sacked quarterback Parker Adamson four times and forced four turnovers, including an interception by Ryan Lee on the final play of the game that he returned for a touchdown.
New Hope gained 67 yards in the first half, but gained more than 300 in the second half.
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