OSWEGO — Struggling against one of the most dynamic 8-Man players in the state, the Oswego Indians fell to the West Elk Patriots, 5444, in a back-and-forth Week 4 showdown.
“I’m very proud of our team and the way they battled and played. It was a really great football game,” Oswego head coach Matt Fowler said. “They jumped on us early and got up. We came out in the second half and tied it up right away and then it just went back-andforth until the end. West Elk is a very, very good football team.”
West Elk’s do-it-all star, Creyo Koop, tallied five total touchdowns. Koop rushed for 136 yards and three scores, caught a 40-yard touchdown and returned a kick to the house.
“I can count by one hand the number of times he’s been tackled by one single player in the four years I’ve coached against him,” Fowler said. “He’s just so difficult to tackle. He’s just a great back and they use him so well.”
Oswego went blow-forblow with the Patriots, with Josh Hutchinson racking up 154 rushing yards and three scores on 23 carries. Owen Jackson added 88 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
The loss for Oswego was its second of the year after a Week 1 loss at Marmaton Valley, another shootout the Indians found themselves on the wrong side of at the end.
“There’s a handful of plays in the first game that could’ve gone our way, and it was like that tonight, too,” Fowler said. “We had an onside kick that they took back and scored right out of half. This one, it was a couple of special teams deals that were tough and big swings in the game.”
Despite sitting at .500, Fowler sees the long term vision for Oswego evolving.
“It’s tough to handle, but we’re getting better in so many ways,” Fowler said. “I honestly think tonight was the best game we’ve played. We had over 300 yards rushing and put up 44 points against a very good team. And we defended them well at times. They just made things happen. In both of our losses, we played against teams that had tremendous playmakers. You have to give credit where credit is due.”
Up next
Oswego hits the road to face Central-Burden in Week 5.
“Central-Burden is a school that has a lot of tradition,” Fowler said. “They beat West Elk last year in the regular season. It’s a district opponent and a team we respect. Hopefully we can get over the bumps and bruises and get ready for another week.”
