General | August 23, 2018 | 23:36

DETROIT — Phillip Stewart noted that he had not received any college interest from scouts about his abilities as a tailback.
 
That should change fairly quickly.
 
The senior from Oak Park had a breakthrough performance Thursday at the 14th annual Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University.
 
He blazed a trail for 181 yards on 14 carries and added a touchdown in leading the Knights to a 31-13 victory over Utica Eisenhower in Game 1 of the three-day, seven-game event.
 
Eisenhower won last year's clash, 24-7.
 
Stewart was named Oak Park's Most Outstanding Player for his career effort, which opened some eyes. The Knights top running back, Torriano Richardson, missed the game.
 
"I haven't had any offers yet," smiled Stewart, also a state qualifier in the sprints for Oak Park's track and field team that finished sixth at the Division 1 state meet back on June 2. "But I hope there will be. The credit goes to my offensive line. I was also able to break some tackles on some of those runs and get into open space."
 
Behind a towering and mobile offensive line, Oak Park (1-0) racked up 351 yards of total offense. Senior quarterback Dawn Mathis finished 9-for-14 passing for 68 yards, Davion Primm added 73 rushing yards on five carries, Travis Boston chipped in with 31 yards on six touches, and Sacari Reece had three catches for 34 yards for the Knights.
 
"I thought Eisenhower contained us a little bit in the first half, but we were able to control (the lines) more in the second half," offered Oak Park coach Greg Carter. "This was an important win for us because (in recent years) we've started kind of slow and picked it up later. We play such a tough schedule this year that I think winning here was big to kind of getting us going. It won't get any easier, either."
 
Oak Park grabbed a 19-0 lead in the first half and never relinquished it.
 
The Knights picked up a 6-0 lead on Mathis' 4-yard scamper with 7:50 in the first quarter.
 
The Ohio State-bound Mathis hooked up with Jesse Brown for a 26-yard TD strike when Mathis was forced out of the pocket and floated a high pass. This time Rani Moussa converted the extra point for a 13-0 advantage with 10:24 left in the half.
 
Oak Park took advantage of an Eisenhower fumble with Enzo Jennings scooping up the loose ball and racing 49-yards for paydirt with 9:56 still left in the half.
 
Eisenhower (0-1) clawed back with a pair of touchdown drives in the second quarter.
 
The first was capped by Blake Rastigue's 29-yard pass to Team MVP Caleb Oyster with 7:00 to go in the second frame. The Eagles, who missed the PAT on the first score, added another score with 29 ticks before halftime when Rastigue hit Oyster with a 31-yard scoring toss.
 
Three times Eisenhower turned the ball over on downs in Oak Park territory, including on the Knights' 1-yard line with 3:10 to go. The Eagles also turned the ball over on downs at the Knights 22- and 27-yard line.
 
"We had the turnover and then dropped three (potential) touchdown passes. Those were huge. If we score on some of those this might be a little different," sighed Eisenhower coach Chris Smith. "We didn't execute when we had to. I don't care about wins and losses. I just want us to compete. I thought for the most part that we held our own against one of the best teams in the state. We didn't execute and they did when they had a chance."
 
Oak Park tacked on two more scores in the second half to extend their lead and put the game away.
 
Stewart scored on a 29-yard scamper with 3:21 left in the third stanza, while Mathis added a 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter. Oak Park missed on four of its five extra point attempts.
 
"We have two really good running backs. Torriano Richardson was out, so I was very pleased with the way Stewart carried the ball," said Carter. "We don't care about who starts. All that matters is who produces out there. I thought Stewart had a great game and we controlled the line of scrimmage in the second half."
 
Oyster had six catches for 107 yards and added 66 rushing yards on 17 carries for Eisenhower. Rastigue finished the night 13-for-25 passing for 195 yards for the Eagles, who generated 260 yards of offense.
 
BOX SCORE
OAK PARK 31
UTICA EISENHOWER 13
 

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
OP	6	13	6	6	31
UE	0	13	0	0	13

SCORING DRIVES
1st Quarter
OP — Dwan Mathis 4-yard run (7:50), missed PAT
2nd Quarter
OP — Mathis to Jesse Brown 26-yard pass (10:24) Rani Moussa PAT
OP — Enzo Jennings 49-yard fumble return (9:56), missed PAT
UE — Blake Rastigue to Caleb Oyster 29-yard pass (7:00), missed PAT
UE — Rastigue to Oyster 31-yard pass (0:29), Oyster PAT
3rd Quarter
OP — Phillip Stewart 29-yard run (3:21), missed PAT
4th Quarter
OP — Mathis 1-yard run  (7:36), pass failed
 
RECORDS — Oak Park 1-0; Utica Eisenhower 0-1