2022 RECORD OVERALL RECORD : 11-3 DISTRICT RECORD : 3-0
Oakwood PANTHERS
JUWAN LEE Sports Editor sports @ palestineherald . com
What better way to begin your head coaching tenure than by leading your team to a game away from the state championship . That was the dominant storyline behind head coach J . J . Johnson ’ s first year leading the Oakwood football program . Coach Johnson had spent the last several years heading Palestine ’ s boys basketball program where he continuously guided them to the playoffs . Although a different sport , he brought over those winning ways to Oakwood football who fell a game shy of their first state championship berth since 1991 . Also help carrying them their was district MVP Zack Nickerson . After Nickerson scored six touchdowns against sixth-ranked Oglesby , Nickerson had a career performance with nine touchdowns against Bluff Dale . According to the University Interscholastic League ’ s 2021 Almanac , the record for most rushing touchdowns in a game was nine , set by McLean ’ s Ben Crockett against Milford in 2018 . Nickerson ’ s 475 yards rushing would also set the record for most rushing yards in a single game as Josh Colunga previously held the record with 441 . Nickerson also compiled 475 yards rushing on 23 carries as the main contributor on Oakwood ’ s offense . Nickerson is now up to 3,496 yards and 77 touchdowns on the year , along with another three receiving touchdowns . Bluff Dale was ranked ninth heading into the playoffs , which marks the second top-10 state-ranked opponent Oakwood has beaten in the playoffs . Coach Johnson has hammered home the amount of proud they take in defense , despite the high-scoring
nature of six-man football . “ We take pride in defense ,” Johnson said . “ You see it in the energy we play with . Sometimes we have more energy on defense than on offense . Trinidy Bynum and Gavin Wilbanks has led that defense . They get after it and the team follows .” After eclipsing 80 points in back-to-back games , Bluff Dale was held to under 55 points for just
22 WINTER EDITION 2023