Maddox Oquendo Rushes For 293 Yards and 3 Touchdowns As Stone Memorial Wins at Dekalb County, 31-15

By Michael Lindsay

The Stone Memorial Panthers earned a crucial Region 4-4A win Thursday evening at Dekalb County as they defeated the Tigers, 31-15.

“I’m so proud of our kids,” said Stone Memorial head coach Derik Samber. “DeKalb County has a heck of a football team and is always well-coached. We protected the football all night. It was a fantastic job by our offensive line and I can’t say enough about those guys.”

The Panthers were led by do-it-all senior Maddox Oquendo, who rushed for 293 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win.

“Maddox made big plays,” said Samber. “We kept feeding him and he kept doing his job.”

DeKalb County struck first on their opening drive as quarterback Jordan Parker hit Wyatt Carter for a touchdown pass in the red zone to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

Stone Memorial answered on the following drive as Oquendo broke loose for a 54-yard touchdown run. Following a failed PAT, DeKalb County held a 7-6 advantage.

The Panthers took their first lead of the game with 7:35 remaining in the second period as quarterback Noah Potter rushed in a 10-yard touchdown to give Stone Memorial a 12-6 advantage.

DeKalb County would get the last laugh in the first half, however, as Parker hit Jon Hendrix for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 2.9 seconds left in the quarter for a touchdown. Following a Cecil Ketchum 2-point conversion, Dekalb County led 15-12 at halftime.

Stone Memorial regained the lead late in the third quarter as Potter rushed in his second touchdown of the day, this one from 3 yards out to give the Panthers an 18-15 lead with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter.

Stone Memorial’s defense shut out DeKalb County in the second half while Oquendo rushed in two fourth-quarter touchdowns (49 and 21 yards) to shut the door on the Panthers’ 31-15 victory.

The Panthers improve to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in Region 4-4A play and are scheduled to play at Livingston Academy next week. DeKalb County falls to 5-1 and 1-1 in region action and will travel to Macon County next week.