CEDAR VALE — Two points separated the Oswego Indians, who scored 86, and the Cedar Vale-Dexter Spartans, who scored 88, in a breakneck Week 7 showdown that tallied 174 ticks on the scoreboard.
Cedar Vale-Dexter secured a district title over Oswego with the win.
“Obviously it was a great football game and a devastating loss for us,” Oswego head coach Matt Fowler said. “It’s difficult to get past. But I’m proud of the kids and how hard they fought. It was a furious rally. We never gave up. That speaks volumes. The battle we put in was maybe one the coolest things I’ve seen on a football field.”
Demitri Williamson put on a show for the ages for Oswego as the sophomore racked up 327 yards rushing on 20 carries with 10 total touchdowns — seven rushing, one receiving, one kick return and one punt return.
The sophomore star added 13 tackles, the second-best mark on the night for Oswego.
“Offensively, he was breaking loose early,” Fowler said. “He was very elusive and running through tackles. He made guys miss a lot. Late in the game, the kick return and the punt return were crazy plays when we had to have something. As great a night as he had, we wish he could’ve added one more touchdown. He had a great game and he’s a great kid.”
The game featured a pair of lead changes in the final 70 seconds — a punctuation to a wild night.
Oswego held a 14-point lead in the third quarter before the Spartans staked a 72-56 advantage in the final stanza.
As the squads traded blows, the Spartans drew final blood on a 15-yard pass from Cooper Criss to Wyatt Martin with 13 seconds left.
The Indians came a yard away from channeling the Kansas City Chiefs’ famous 13-second drive.
Oswego got the ball at the Spartants’ 15-yard line on a catch from Williamson to set up one final play. As the clock hit zeroes, Williamson took a rush right and dove for the pylon.
The refs ruled Williamson had been pushed out of bounds. “There was a big pile of bodies and he was going for the pylon,” Fowler said. “Both teams were jumping around like both sides have won. The officials said he was short. From my look, I couldn’t tell. Neither team’s filmer got a good look at it at all. It’s one of those things that we’ll probably never know. But that’s OK. It’s better that way. The game came down to the final play, but there were several other things that we can point to.
“We had four turnovers in the game. That was key in coming up short. In 8-Man football games, the two-point conversions normally decide it. And they had one more than we did.”
Freshman Deonta Williamson tallied 94 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.
Chance Mills led the Indians with 20 tackles. This isn’t the first dance with high-octane offense for Fowler, who coached Oswego’s 106-98 loss to Marmaton Valley in 2021.
“The recipe is fatigue,” Fowler said. “These games take forever. Both of them nearly lasted four hours. I think we’re trudging through the third quarter of that Marmaton game and the score was in the 50s. But when kids have been out there for three hours who play both ways, the ability to tackle goes out of the window. The other thing is talent. Even playoff games and state championship games where there’s good teams with explosive players can have shootout-type games. You’re going to have those sometimes.
“In both games we lost, I can point to a time where we were ahead by two scores in the third quarter of both games and we fumbled the ball,” Fowler said. “In both of those games, a costly turnover or a couple of turnovers really flipped the game. Coming up on the wrong end of any game is heart-wrenching and difficult. But you have to appreciate that the battle was down to the end. The game can be cruel. But it can be just as rewarding. It’s what makes football great and athletics great.”
While Friday’s loss for Oswego was another heartbreaker that will live in Kansas football lore, it also put the state on notice — Williamson will etch a legacy.
“Demitri is a great kid and he’s very talented,” Fowler said. “He’s a competitor. He showed that at the end of the game. That push to get back in the game was on everybody. But he had the ability to put it in the end zone. We blocked very well upfront. We were over 10 yards per carry on the ground. His younger brother had a big game as well. Demitri is going to just get better and better as his career goes on. He’s always capable of turning out that kind of night. We didn’t hardly notice it because we can always count on it.”
Cedar Vale-Dexter improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in district play while Oswego dropped to 5-2 and 3-1, respectively.
Up next
Oswego hosts Sedan to wrap the regular season in Week 8 on Friday.
“There is a lot at stake,” Fowler said. “We are battling for the No. 2 seed and the winner will get to host a playoff game. It’s something we’ve done before and want to keep that up. We have to focus on this week one day at a time. (On Monday), we’ll go over Friday night’s game. A lot of attention will be on ball security. Then we’ll go through the gameplan against Sedan and take on another big challenge.”
