Vento Leads Harrison Past Oxford, 34-7

The top-ranked varsity football team moved to 4-0 on the season, with a 34-7 victory over Oxford High School on Friday.

The Hawks were led by senior Jake Vento, who ran for three touchdowns, accounted for 324 yards of total offense as a quarterback, and had an interception on defense.

“I couldn’t have done it without the offensive line and the coaches,” Vento said. “Our defense really stepped up too. (Oxford) is a great team.”

Vento scored all three of his touchdowns in the second quarter on runs of 62, 6 and 47 yards. The third touchdown came in the final minute of the first half and punctuated a 92-yard drive that gave Harrison a 21-7 lead going in to the locker room.

“I think it was big to get that score going in to the half,” Vento said. “The line and the backs really did a great job there.”

Vento was 8-for-14 on pass attempts, good for 124 yards through the air. Hawks head coach John Herrington said that he would like to see the team’s passing attack improve, but the early season struggles aren’t surprising, considering Vento was not a quarterback last season.

“Jake was our best wide receiver last year, but now he’s the quarterback,” Herrington said. “It’s a transition, and we’re still a work in progress there.”

Still, Herrington was glowing in his praise of Vento’s performance and skill set.

“He’s just a great high school player,” Herrington said. “We’ve got three other players that have Big Ten scholarships, but he is important as anybody on our team.”

Harrison’s other two touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, from senior running back Austin Hunter and junior running back Ed Huckleby.

With the loss, Oxford moved to 2-2 on the season and now has a four-game losing streak against Harrison. The Wildcats’ top performer was senior running back Prescott Line, who carried the ball 35 times for 150 yards.

“(Line) dominated up front, and we’ve got some guys that are banged up.” Herrington said. “He’s a very good back, so I’m happy to get out of here with a win…The score was not indicative of the game.”

The defending state champions will look to stay undefeated on the season and extend their overall winning streak to 19 games when they travel to Southfield-Lathrup High School on Friday, Sept. 23 for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff. Oxford will host Rochester Hills Stoney Creek that same day at 7 p.m.