Oasis quarterback Parker Smith prepares to deliver a 45-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Wittmer. CJ HADDAD

Heavy rain and lightning in the area Friday night saw the contest moved to Saturday at 11 a.m., with warm conditions very much in play.

The Sharks (3-0) scored 22 unanswered points, led by senior quarterback Parker Smith, who threw a touchdown and also scored one with his legs, to take down the Barons (2-1).

“The win feels good, it does,” said Oasis head coach Brice Bearman. “We knew it was going to be a tough fight. We were stepping up in class, and knew it was going to be physical. Watching them on tape, that’s a very physical team. They’re well-coached. They do things the right way, and they go hard the whole time. And we told our kids that’s the way it was going to be. And that’s the way it was. (Our) kids stepped up and fought hard in some pretty heavy weather.”

St. Petersburg Catholic opened the scoring in the first quarter on its second possession, as senior quarterback Kanon Better hooked up with sophomore wideout Malik Newton for a 23-yard touchdown.

Oasis junior Adriel Rodriguez comes up with a big sack on 4th down to turn over St. Petersburg Catholic to help the Sharks secure the win. CJ HADDAD

Oasis answered right back early in the second, when Smith lofted a deep ball right in the bucket to junior Gavin Wittmer, who corralled the pass and stepped into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown. A successful 2-point conversion gave the Sharks a lead they would not relinquish.

The Sharks got the ball in Barons territory following a punt in the final moments of the half, and following a roughing the passer and unsportsmanlike penalties against St. Petersburg, were in the red zone.

It was senior back Frederick Harley Jr. who took a handoff from 4 yards out to punch it in for the score.

Harley Jr., who has been a key offensive cog for Oasis, was limited to just 10 carries on the game battling a lower-body injury. Those 10 carries still resulted in a score and 78 rushing yards. Without its leading rusher, the Sharks were game to continue putting the pressure on through the air, Smith’s legs and with junior back Dallas Scott.

“Having (Harley Jr.) is kind of like a weight off my shoulders, having him in the backfield, so when he went out I knew I had to step up a little bit,” Smith said.

Parker Smith and Kaleb Stengel celebrate an Oasis touchdown. CJ HADDAD

The Barons worked into Shark territory early in the third quarter, but the defense held strong, as senior James Griffin came up with an interception off of a tipped ball to put an end to the threat.

Perhaps the most critical moments of the game came in the fourth quarter, when a Harley Jr. fumble gave St. Petersburg the ball on the Shark 28-yard line with a chance to tie the game.

On fourth down, Oasis swarmed Vetter, who was swallowed by junior Adriel Rodriguez for a sack to give the Sharks the ball back.

“That’s what you’re supposed to do,” Bearman told his defense following the crucial play. “When you turn it over like that, you have to stop them and turn it (back) over. They held them for four downs down there, and that’s what the defense was supposed to do. We get put in spots like that, those guys have to step up.”

With just over 6 minutes to play in the game, Smith, who was 10-for-17 through the air for 80 yards, and rushed for 70 more on seven attempts, took a quarterback keeper 14 yards across the goal line for all the insurance the Sharks would need.

“Parker is the leader of this team,” Bearman said, “Whenever we need him, he steps up and takes care of it.”

Of his team’s performance, Smith said “It felt good. It’s definitely something we’re not used to, playing during the day, but I think the whole team was working together and firing together, so it felt good.”

All together, it was a complete performance for Oasis, both offensively and defensively, as they held the Barons to just 175 yards of total offense.

“Our defense is just phenomenal,” Smith said. “Honestly, the whole year they’ve been saving us. We’ve got a great defense. (That fourth down stop) was huge.”

With pickle juice being utilized on the sidelines to prevent cramps, Bearman said that despite the humidity bringing the “real feel” to 100-plus degrees on the day, he wouldn’t let it be an excuse for his squad.

“I learned this from a coach that I coached with not long ago; we don’t say ‘hot,’ we say ‘sunny,'” Bearman said. “You say ‘hot,’ you want to come up with things not to do and a reason not to do it. We say ‘it’s sunny.’ No reason not to do it.”

Next week, Oasis travels to take on St. John Neumann Catholic (1-0).

1 2 3 4 F

SPCHS 7 0 0 0 — 7

OASIS 0 15 0 7 — 22

1st Quarter

SPCHS: Malik Newton, 23-yard reception from Kanon Vetter (Ben Haffner kick); 3:04

2nd Quarter

OHS: Gavin Wittmer, 45-yard reception from Parker Smith (Tommy Murphy to Kaleb Stengel 2-pt); 10:45

OHS: Frederick Harley Jr., 4-yard run (Mason Sargis kick); 0:37

4th Quarter

OHS: Smith, 14-yard run (Sargis kick); 6:05