Greenback, Tennessee. | The strong week for Oneida's offense continued at Greenback on Friday as the Indians closed out a three-game week with a 7-0 win over the Cherokees.
The Indians outscored their opponents 20-1 through three games during the week, with Mason Keaton and Alex Jones each scoring twice in Friday's final game, and Levi James, George Klein and Kaden Krahn also scoring. added.
The score was lopsided, but it didn't tell the whole story of the game. Oneida led 5-0 before 25 minutes into the game, with Keaton scoring his two goals in the first half, and Jones, James and Klein also scoring.
“From there we were able to play a lot of different lineups and give our young players some really good game experience,” Keaton said.
When Oneida started coming off the bench en masse, the scoring slowed. Still up 5-0 at halftime, Oneida had 18 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes.
“We played very unselfish and were able to move the ball and create some quality shots,” Keaton said.
The Indians continued to play deep on their bench in the second half.
“It was really good, especially for the freshman class,” Keaton said.
Jones and Krahn scored goals in the second half.
“Alex has been practicing really well the last three weeks and playing well. I expect big things in the future for both Alex and Kaiden, as well as Miles Ruxton (who was out with the flu).”
Keaton said Oneida's success is due to the team's leadership from above.
“We've taken a step forward in the last few weeks. It was really exciting to see them get out on the field and cheer on all their friends,” he said. “Games like this show the importance of all 26 players to our entire team and what it takes to develop our program and sustain our program now and into the future.”