Oakmont finally tastes victory in win over BV

Oakmont's football team celebrated victory Friday night for the first time since Oct. 7, 2022. After going winless last season, Oakmont only had to wait until game No. 1 to get a victory, as they defeated Bella Vista 27-13. Needless to say, there was quite the celebration. "The kids were going nuts jumping up and down," Oakmont head coach Jake Messina said. "It was good. It's tough to toil and not get the result that you want. To get that win is a big monkey off our backs." The game didn't start well for the Vikings, who fell behind 13-0 in the second quarter. "Here's the reality, we've worked really hard to get where we are at," Messina said. "Where we have lacked has been the big guys up front and Bella Vista had four ginormous big guys on the defensive line." Doubts might have crept into the minds of some of the Oakmont faithful, but if there were, they didn't let those thoughts take control. With three minutes to go in the second quarter, Kendall Barber got the Vikings on the scoreboard with a seven-yard run. Then the defense made a big play, as Dylan Wagner recovered a fumble and returned it 10 yards for an Oakmont touchdown. The extra point tied the score at 13 at halftime. Late in the third quarter, Barber scored again on a three-yard touchdown run and Marcus Vasquez' extra point put the Vikings up 20-13. There was one more score in the game and it came from Oakmont. With Bella Vista driving in the fourth quarter, Oakmont's Elijah Hunt intercepted a pass. Oakmont quarterback Andrew Merino threw a long pass to Jayden Beasley to get the ball up to the Bella Vista 44-yard line. On the next play, Suleiman Hassan-Olajoku ran the ball in to the end zone. Alden Barnhart ended the Broncos' next drive by recovering a fumble and the Vikings ran out the clock. "We drove the ball down the field in the third quarter for Kendall's second touchdown, and then Sulei had a big run in the fourth quarter," Messina said. "We wore them down. I think they wanted no part of Sulei in the fourth quarter. It was fun to watch." Merino completed 8 of 13 passes for 101 yards. Hassan-Olajoku rushed for 111 yards on nine carries, while KC Tibbets caught three passes for 59 yards. Mac Hughes led the defense with 16 tackles, while Seth Starkey and Tyler Shade were in on 13 tackles. "Merino was phenomenal," Messina said. "He had some misfires, but he made a lot of plays with his legs. One play he kept alive with his legs and made a nice pass to Beasley and that play was a determining factor in the outcome of the game." Messina also praised the defense, saying Oakmont controlled the line of scrimmage and did a good job of limiting Bella Vista's run game. After the game, Messina had a talk with the team. "I told them that things have changed forever," Messina said. "Win or lose, we will battle for now on knowing we have a chance to win and we will be a successful program now that we have weathered the storm." Next up for Oakmont is crosstown rival Roseville. "We'll have to play mistake-free football to win," Messina said. "Defensively, we'll have to hunker down and not break contain. Our secondary will have to hold up, as their receivers are pretty explosive. "Offensively, we can't sputter and we need to make sure that we are making good decisions. We hope to put ourselves in position to have a chance at the end. That's all you can ask for when you're playing a bigger, faster and stronger opponent."