#1 Seed South Oldham hosts #4 seed Woodford County Friday in Crestwood.

 

Live broadcast (and also archived indefinitely) at The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN beginning at 7 pm ET Mike Montgomery and Ed Howard have the call.

 

South Oldham (9-1) enters the game off their only loss of the season, a 33-32 heartbreaker at the hands of top 10 4A team, Shelby County, a team that has quickly become one of South's primary rivals. The Dragons, coached by Jamie Reed (7th season), have won their fifth consecutive district crown and started 9-0 for the first time in school history this season.

 

Reed is 56-24 (.700) since arriving in Crestwood in 2010. South has never had a losing record under Reed.

 

Players to Watch for the Dragons:

Junior QB Drew Zaubi has completed 50% of his passes for 1,501 yards and 19 TDs vs. just 5 INT. He's also run for 7 TDs.

 

Freshman fullback Keaton Martin has been the surprise of the year for South. He didn't begin the year as the starter, but raised eyebrows in week 1 when he had to enter the game against Anderson County for injured starter Bryce Kelly and responded with over 150 yards. For the season, he's averaging 122 yards per game (1,223 yards rushing with 15 TDs). In what has become a fullback-friendly offense at South, he has neatly followed he legacy left by runners such as Kevin Kuriger.

 

senior WR Keanan John leads the team in pass receptions with 17, but he's turned those 17 catches into 590 yards, or 34.7 yards per catches. Every third catch has gone for a TD (6 TDs). John is also a dangerous defender; he has 5 INT on the season.

 

Defensively, two underclassmen linebackers have risen to the top; sophomore Noah Mitchell and junior Zach Moore have blossomed; each recording over 70 total tackles on the season. On the line, the D-linemen have done far more than just occupy blockers; linemen such as seniors Graham Ashkettle and Darren Weathers have proven fast and productive, registering 44 and 59 tackles, respectively.

 

South is outscoring the opposition, 40.3 - 19.6

 

Woodford County (3-7) comes into the game on a five game losing streak after starting the year in promising fashion at 3-2. Dennis Johnson is in his second year at the Versailles school after going 3-8 last season. This will be the first meeting between Johnson's Jackets and Reed's Dragons.

 

Gone are graduated seniors Emir Bernabe and DeVontre Winkfield who each rushed for over 700 yards last season and keyed a powerful running attack that averaged 250 yards per contest. In their places are a new all-purpose duo that can produce on the ground or in the air: seniors Domynik Johnson (455 rushing yards / 5 TDs - both team highs - along with a team-high 245 yards receiving and 2 more TDs) and Malik Richards (279 yards rushing, 3 TDs / team-high 24 receptions for 219 yards and a team-high 3 receiving TDs...also 385 yards passing). Both are capable of running effectively and catching the ball, and Richards is a capable passer. Richards also a flair for the spectacular; he returned an interception 100 yards for a TD.

 

Like any number 4 seed, Woodford likely needs to do something it hasn't done much in order to pull the upset. The big question the Yellowjackets face is whether or not they can manufacture points against the South "D" - Woodford is averaging just 13.4 ppg, and has been held under 10 points in four of their last 5 games, all losses.

 

The two teams have played three common opponents:

 

North Bullitt North Bullitt 20, Woodford County 0 South Oldham 35, N. Bullitt 34

Anderson County Anderson Co. 10, Woodford Co. 7 South Oldham 31, Anderson Co 14

Nelson County Woodford Co. 29, Nelson Co. 0* South Oldham 56, Nelson Co. 7

 

* The Woodford - Nelson game was stopped at the half.

 

Live video coverage of the matchup begins at 7 pm ET on The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN

The coverage is also ARCHIVED indefinitely.

 

CM

Predictions? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? LOL

Good overview ColonelMike. Just wondering about the line play for Woodford. Didn't they lose a few very big guys including Drake Jackson? That would be a key for them vs South's line both on offense and defense. I think South learned a little bit last week about coming out focused from the start. Look for South to get out of the blocks early and cruise in this one.

Predictions? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? LOL

South can pretty much name the score. Woodford lost 51-0 last week on senior night, would have been worse if not for the running clock. The Woodford Anderson score is miss leading to me, as it was fall break week for both schools so lost of distractions that week with no classes.