Smith Injures Ankle and Oak Park Falls to Unbeaten Nordhoff, 21-0
Standout running back Tarik Smith suffered an ankle injury on his first carry and Oak Park High could not generate any offense without him, losing to unbeaten Nordhoff, 21-0, Friday night in a nonleague game at Oak PArk.
Each team entered the game with a 3-0 record.
Smith, who rushed for 1,776 yards last season, was sidelined for the remainder of the game after being injured on a 12-yard run in the first minute. The senior missed the Eagles’ opener because he failed to attend a class the day of the game. He has rushed for 317 yards this season.
Nordhoff quarterback Steve Saum guided a well-balanced attack. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 135 yards and three touchdowns.
Ranger running back John Hawkins was the recipient of Saum’s first two scoring passes on plays of 13 yards in the first quarter and six yards in the second.
Hawkins also rushed for a game-high 73 yards in 15 carries.
Receiver Jason Kimpton added a third touchdown, on a 15-yard pass from Saum in the third quarter.
Nordhoff (3-1) held Oak Park (3-1) to 173 yards in offense, including 73 in the second half.
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