SHOCKING SURPRISE

Surging Oakwood Panthers stun seventh-ranked Iredell Dragons in Class 1A, DII Region III Final, advancing to the State Semifinals to face third-ranked Oglesby Saturday in Robinson

Coming off one of the biggest wins in the history of its football program, the Class 1A, Division II’s seventh-ranked Iredell Dragons saw their standard-setting season come to a surprising and sudden end.

Unfortunately for the Iredell faithful, the Dragons ran into the surging and unranked Oakwood Panthers, who clawed their way to a shocking 64-50 upset victory in the Class 1A, DII, Region III Final and State Quarterfinal matchup last Friday night at McGregor High School’s Bulldog Stadium.

Winning its sixth straight after opening the season with a 2-5 record, Oakwood (8-5) ceased momentum early and matched the stunned Dragons (10-3) every step of the way before finally securing the win in the final moments by scoring three fourth quarter touchdowns.

After advancing to the Class 1A, Division II regional finals in back-to-back seasons and for only the fourth time in school history, the Dragons fell just short of taking the program to the next level.

“It was a great season for our guys,” Iredell football head coach Luis Guereca said. “Our goals fell short, but the commitment the team made this year to get better each week was great to see. I’m proud of our team, school and community. I can’t thank all that were involved enough. It took all of us to put a season together like we did.”

In Class 1A, Division II Region IV, the third-ranked Oglesby Tigers (11-2) took another step toward returning to the state championship game by knocking off the second-ranked, previously undefeated and perennial powerhouse Richland Springs Coyotes, 60-46, in the Region IV Final and State Quarterfinal showdown last Friday.

As a result, Oglesby returns to the State Semifinal round to take on Oakwood at 2 p.m. Saturday at Robinson High School’s Rocket Field. The winner will advance to the Class 1A, DII State Championship game at 11:00 a.m. Dec. 18 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, earning the right to face the State Semifinal victor between top-ranked Jayton Jaybirds (13-0) and the unranked Klondike Cougars (9-4), who will battle at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Wolfforth Frenship’s Peoples Banks Stadium.

“Beating a program like Richland Springs for the second straight season and getting back to the State Semifinal game means a lot for our program,” Oglesby head coach Jeb Dixon said. “We want to be one of the elite programs in six-man football that everyone talks about.”

Over the last five seasons under Dixon, the Oglesby Tigers have become just that, posting an overall 54-9 win-loss record. In 2023, Oglesby posted playoff victories over Oakwood, 60-14, in Area, then Iredell, 62-16, in the State Quarterfinals, and Richland Springs, 62-48, in the State Semifinals before falling to the back-to-back state champion Benjamin Mustangs, 82-34, in the State Championship at AT&T Stadium.

Last Friday afternoon at Belton ISD’s Tiger Stadium, Oglesby senior running back Kyler Fossett scored six touchdowns while compiling 366 total yards to lead Tigers over Richland Springs (12-1). Fossett dominated on the ground with 267 yards and five touchdowns, while completing six of eight passes for 99 yards with a four-yard scoring strike to senior Alex Castillo.

Oglesby capitalized on two first half turnovers to take the lead before icing the game with a fourth quarter fumble recovery.

“We’ve been to the pinnacle, and that’s motivated us to get back,” Dixon said. “This was a rematch, and this was the one team we felt like we needed to beat, so we got that job done. Turnovers played a big role in the game. I think our size up front was a big contributor as well.”

Despite already getting past a huge obstacle in the state-ranked and previously-undefeated Coyotes, Oglesby will not be taking the unranked Oakwood Panthers lightly.

“Oakwood is big and physical,” Dixon said. “Their backs run hard, and they throw the ball well. They are a well-coached football team that has gotten hot at the right time.”

Advancing to the State Semifinal game for the second time in three seasons under head coach Johnnathan Johnson, the Oakwood Panthers overcame a slow start to the season to win the District 12-1A, DII title and carry that momentum into the playoffs.

“We loaded our schedule pretty tough up front, so we kind of get lost because of our record,” Johnson said. “Most of the teams we played early are still in the playoffs. But we wanted to play tough teams to get over the hump, get past the regional final and get to the ‘ship.”

Defensively against Iredell, Oakwood did a good job of slowing down the vaunted Dragon running game. And with the Panthers constantly in the Iredell backfield, the Dragons struggled to get the passing game off the ground as well.

In the meantime, the Oakwood offense pounded away at the Dragons with a strong, downhill running game, and the Panthers came up with some big, complementary plays through the air. With the Panthers running strong, the Dragons struggled to bring down Oakwood after first contact all night.

“Iredell is a great team, and we knew we had our work cut out for us,” Johnson said. “But we have several guys that can tote the ball, and we can throw. We have a lot of different weapons. It just took us awhile to figure out what would work for us. But now, I think we have a recipe to be successful.”

Entering his 12th season as the Dragon head coach, Guereca led Iredell to six straight winning seasons culminating in three consecutive district titles from 2016-2018. Although the Dragons expected to be in the hunt at the state level again in 2019, injuries took their toll early forcing the team to shutdown before district. Likewise, the 2020 season ended up feeling like a bit of déjà vu – and not in a good way.

After winning three consecutive district titles and making back-to-back trips to the Class 1A, Division II, Region IV finals in 2017 and 2018, the Dragons found themselves in rebuild mode after suffering through three straight losing seasons.

But without a doubt, the Iredell Dragons are back with three straight trips to the playoffs, their second straight district title and back-to-back trips to the regional finals.

“With the success we had this year, expectations will be even higher with as many starters we are returning and the depth we are going to bring back,” Guereca said. “I know when football season comes around, the excitement will be at an all time high.”