Miliak Hayward’s late heroics fuel Oakdale upset of Oberlin

OBERLIN – In a game scheduled for Thursday night due to the Allen Parish Fair, winless Oakdale came out of the game at Tiger Stadium and into the fair with a shocking 34-26 come-from-behind upset of the previously unbeaten Oberlin Tigers.

Senior running back Miliak Hayward’s seven yard touchdown run gave Oakdale a slim 27-26 lead with 4:54 left in the game.

The ensuing Oberlin drive stalled on fourth down and seven when senior quarterback James Kirklin was sacked for a loss to give the Warriors the ball with just under two minutes left in the game.

Hayward came through again with a 40-yard touchdown run to extend the Warriors’ lead to 34-26 with 1:39 remaining, and the Tigers held on to down Class 1A’s No. 5 ranked team.

“It’s a big win because it’s our first one,” said Oakdale head coach Randall Gordon. “We knew we would have to play well and take care of our responsibilities. We made less mistakes tonight than we have all year.”

Hayward finished with 258 yards and two touchdowns for the Warriors.

“We knew we would have to play hard,” said Hayward. “We didn’t want to go into the fair with losses to Kinder and Oberlin but after the win we are much more confident as a team.”

Oakdale started quickly with a short touchdown run after a long opening drive to take a 7-0 lead over the Tigers.

After the long, methodical drive typical of Oberlin, Kirklin hit senior tight end Tucker Fontenot on a 25-yard touchdown pass. The following two-point conversion failed to preserve the Oakdale lead with 2:36 left in the first quarter.

A fumble recovered by Oberlin sophomore linebacker Jonathan Cole preceded a big play for the offense 30 seconds into the second quarter. Kirklin showed his skills on the ground, busting free for a 48-yard touchdown run to give his team their first lead, 12-7.

Oakdale senior quarterback Slate Jordan hit junior receiver Hunter Longino on a 30-yard pass for a touchdown on the next drive. Another successful PAT extended the Warriors lead to 14-12 with 8:12 left in the half.

Kirklin continued to display his versatility, tossing his second touchdown pass of the night to Fontenot, giving Oberlin held a narrow 18-14 lead going into halftime.

After a slow start the third quarter, Jordan hit junior receiver Jacob Black on a 61-yard touchdown pass. The PAT by sophomore kicker Daniel Rodriguez gave the Warriors a 21-18 lead with 5:14 left in the quarter.

Jordan finished with 107 yards passing and three touchdowns.

Oberlin answered again with a methodical drive, capped by a five yard touchdown run by Fontenot. The successful two-point conversion gave Oberlin the 26-21 lead through three quarters.

Kirklin had 187 rushing yards and three total touchdowns while Fontenot finished with three total scores but it was not enough to avert the upset.

Oakdale (1-2) will host Opelousas in week four while Oberlin (2-1) will start district play as they head on the road to take on Merryville.