Promising start: A year later, Oxford mounts strong jamboree showing at James Clemens

Aug. 13—MADISON — What a difference a year makes for Oxford High football.

A strong rushing game, Mason Mims' controlled passing and constant pressure from Oxford's veteran defensive line helped Class 6A Oxford to a 14-point lead on 7A James Clemens during their Friday jamboree at Madison City Stadium.

After winning the starters portion of the jamboree, the Yellow Jackets went on to win, 14-7.

They had a strong showing a year after falling to James Clemens 26-7 in a 2021 jamboree at Oxford. The Yellow Jackets went on to have two more ugly nights on the scoreboard against 7A power Thompson and 5A power Pleasant Grove before righting the ship for a region title and playoff victory.

James Clemens went on to an unbeaten regular season before falling to Oak Mountain in a first-round playoff game.

Oxford's rugged start in 2021 owed to injuries and mass attrition for then-first-year head coach Sam Adams. The Yellow Jackets lost 30 seniors from 2020 and saw 12 players transfer.

Oxford lost 11 seniors from the 2021 team. Wide receiver Jaden Dobbins transferred to Anniston this week.

Sam Robertson, Oxford's starting quarterback in 2021 and region most valuable player, did not play and was not seen at Friday's jamboree. The Auburn baseball commit and North MVP in the Alabama North-South All-Star doubleheader has competed with Mims for the starting job during preseason practice.

Reserves played the second half, and freshman Caleb Jenkins started the second half at quarterback.

Adams declined to comment on Robertson's status.

Defensive lineman Josiah Kimbrough and defensive back Daveon Larkins did not dress but were present. Kimbrough walked onto the field with other captains for the pregame coin toss, wearing his No. 6 jersey and slacks.

Adams said Kimbrough should be able to play in Oxford's season opener against McAory next week. Larkins suffered an ACL tear and will miss the season.

With all of that factored in, Oxford dominated the first half, taking a 14-0 lead into the locker room. Two more scoring opportunities resulted in a missed Ray Bererra field goal and turning the ball over downs.

"The first half, we played really well on both sides of the ball," Adams said. "We controlled the tempo of the game. I think we ran 45 offensive plays in the first half.

"From a coaching perspective, it's going to be a good one for us, because we did a lot of really good things. At the same time, we had a couple of mistakes where maybe we could've been up by a couple of more scores."

Oxford's defense kept pressure on returning James Clemens quarterback Giovanni Lopez. The Yellow Jackets stopped the Jets on downs at the Oxford 38-yard line in the first quarter, and James Clemens ran out of time at the Oxford 5 in the second.

"Gio, their quarterback, is a fantastic quarterback," Adams said. "We knew, if he was going to have time to sit back there and get his feet set, that we were going to have a hard time handling those guys.

"Our defensive line kept the heat on, and I don't know if he really got to throw on rhythm ll night long. That makes our coverage look better."

Mims, the sophomore quarterback who moved to Oxford from Bowdon, Ga., completed 14 of 20 passes for 85 yards in the first half. He had no turnovers.

Drops accounted for three of his incompletions.

"Mason had a really good game," Adams said. "He missed two throws that he'd really like to have back, but he did a really good job of distributing the ball and getting it where it was supposed to go, and he did a good job of getting the ball out of his hand on time."

Mims spread the ball around. Nick Richardson caught five passes for 39 yards. D.K. Wilson caught four passes for 18 yards, and Judd Syer snagged three Mims throws for 28 yards.

"It felt good," Mims said. "We've still got some things to work on, but we played pretty solid."

A strong running game supplemented Mims' short passing.

Jaydon Thomas rushed for 48 yards on eight carries in the first half, 41 coming on Oxford's first two possessions. He scored on a 1-yard run at 4:49 of the first quarter.

Freshman Caleb Wynn's 90-yard run set up Mims' 1-yard sneak for a score with 25 seconds left in the first quarter.

Adams said the running game helped the passing game.

"A lot of those throws that we were spitting out there were actually on run calls when it was a crowded box," Adams said. "All of that kind of works together to get the five-man boxes we're trying to get to run the ball."

Latreveon Figgers had the highlight for Oxford's reserves with a third-quarter interception.

Sports Writer Joe Medley: 256-235-3576. On Twitter: @jmedley_star.