After the final game of the season, which was a win against Grandview at home, Oak Park had an interesting matchup in the first round of the playoffs against one of their biggest rivals, the Staley Falcons. A matchup between these two teams had already taken place in Week 7, as the Falcons edged out Oak Park in a 28-35 loss for the Northmen. This time around, a home game for Staley, Oak Park could not keep pace.

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 Offense:

 
This was obviously not the best showing for the Northmen offense this season, as they only managed to put up 14 points, which all came in the second half of the game. '22 Ty Clemens streaked for 53 yards and a score as the pocket opened up. At the time, this gave Oak Park some momentum in the early minutes of the first half but, Oak Park's offense could not find a way to keep it going. They would have one more score in the game on a '23 Marlon Gant Jr. rush from 2 yards out, aided by an explosive 53 yard pass from Ty Clemens to '22 Bubba Bogart to get them down to the goal line.
 
Overall, the Northmen had 251 total yards on 44 plays. This would be the difference maker on the evening, as this is the fewest offensive plays the Northmen have run all season.  Oak Park was 4 for 10 on 3^rd down conversions and 1 for 2 on 4^th down conversions. The Northmen had a tough time establishing the ground game as running backs '25 Travon Pankey and '22 KeAndre Braxton split reps but could only find 50 yards on 15 carries. The silver lining for this Oak Park offense is the number of returners for 2022.
 
This offense has been fun to watch all season.  The Northmen will now spend the offseason evaluating guys to replace '22 Bubba Bogart, '22 Ty Clemens, '22 KeAndra Braxton and '22 Ian Risner for starting positions. There will also miss leadership from guys like '22 Adriano Garcia, '22 Juliano Sokoli, '22 Trey Leads, and '22 Logan Johnson on the offensive side of the ball. There were man positives to brag about this season for Oak Park, and it'll be interesting to see how the young guys work and new talent handles the new season.

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 Defense:

 
Oak Park before the playoffs had two stellar defensive performances against Northtown and Grandview. Oak Park had troubles against the versatility of the Falcon's offense, as Staley was able to both rush and throw the ball successfully on Friday night. The Falcons put up 21 points in the first half with two short runs on the goal line for touchdowns and a 42-yard breakaway pass for another score. Oak Park gave up just two scores in the second half, both being touchdown runs but, one was a bolt from 39 yards out and the other was from the 7-yard line.
 
There are going to be several big names leaving for this Northmen defense this season. Safety '22 Jett Sutton has been physical all year long with opposing offenses by disrupting passes and making aggressive tackles. '22 Paul Hernandez is another guy who the Northmen are going to miss next year. He's been a rock at linebacker both in coverage and stopping the run. Lastly the Homecoming king '22 Adriano Garcia has had a great season. You haven't heard his name a lot throughout the season but, as a corner back it means he's been locking his man down.  The loss of '22 Jermaine Harris, '22 Julanio Sokoli, and '22 Ian Risner will also be felt on the D-line and may be the biggest question mark for the Northmen moving forward.  2022 will once again be a rebuilding year for the Northmen on defense, providing plenty of positions and opportunities for guys to put in work and earn a spot on this defense, which should make for some fun competition.

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 What's Next?

This past game was of course the playoffs which means the Northmen 2021 football season has come to an end. There were many ups and downs throughout the season but, this was an overall fun experience for everyone covering games at N2 Sports, myself included. You can continue to read these types of articles about the upcoming basketball and wrestling seasons that are getting started up very soon.

Follow @N2SportsOakPark and GoNorthmen.org for all things Oak Park Football in 2022.

GO NORTHMEN !