Two teams trying to bounce back from sub-par years...

 

North Oldham (0-10 in 2016) tries to rebound after only the second winless season in school history. Interestingly, that previous season was 2006, the first year Billy Martin roamed the sidelines. The following year, the Mustangs had their first winning season in the school's short history and won 8 games!

 

Last year the Mustangs went winless in Joe Gamsky's first season as head coach....might there be another spectacular second season? Maybe.

 

The Mustangs feature a new QB in Tanner McCoy, who was formerly a QB at Waggener, but spent his junior season as primarily a WR last year. This year, McCoy gets to bring his athleticism to the QB spot, and he may be the perfect candidate to run Gamsky's offense. Brandon Rose at WR and Brandon McAfee at RB are stellar talents with significant play-making abilities - North will try to get the ball into their hands often. North also features a true "home run" threat with RB Conner Newhouse, who has track-caliber state championship-level speed.

 

The O-line is smaller than previous North lines, but the upgrade in speed will be apparent in a lot of the running plays.

 

Defensively, the Mustangs are switching to a 4 man front...Gamsky, a former defensive player at South Oldham and Murray State, is turning the keys to the defense over to former Seneca and Oldham County head coach Lonnie Oldham, a fixture in the community for years who was a standout LB on the 1984 Oldham County team that went 13-1 and was ranked #1 in the state of KY.

 

The North coaching staff features a lot of new faces besides Oldham, as Gamsky continues to mold his program.

 

Western (4-7 in 2016) beat North last year, 41-19, and will try to make it 2 in a row vs. the Mustangs, however, the Mustangs have won 3 of the past 4 matchups.

 

QB Tyon Pearson passed for 156 yards and 3 TDs (with no INT) last year, and added 56 rushing yards on just 8 carries. He will lead the Warriors again on Friday, and is a true handful. The Warriors have not yet responded to a request for information, but if they are anything like previous Warrior teams, they will be a threat go all the way on any given offensive play.

 

Both of these teams have six road games this year; for North, a home win to start the season would be huge.

 

Who wins and why? This could be a very interesting game...Gamsky likes his team speed this year - and that will be needed against the typically speedy Warriors. I would love to hear from the Western fans....

 

The game will be aired on Internet VIDEO at The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN

Click on any of the school logos, then click on the triangular "play" button to watch.

Broadcast begins Friday 8/18/17 at 7 pm ET.

 

CM

I was at the North/Henry scrimmage and North is much improved.

I interviewed North coach Joe Gamsky last night for Friday's broadcast....you can hear the interview during the pregame show, which starts at 7 pm. Joe's excited and I think he has cause to be....the Mustangs appear much faster than last year, and they appear ready to capitalize. Could make for a great game against the typically speedy Western Warriors....the winner of the last four matchups between these two has scored over 40 points each time....

 

Critical for North will be the attitudes if the Warriors strike early and stake out a lead. Will the memories of last year's 0-10 campaign rise up and overwhelm North? Or is the new attitude the coaches have been trying to foster strong enough to carry them? How big of a "chip" are the Mustangs carrying?

 

Broadcast begins at 7 pm...kickoff at 7:30 pm live video at The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN

Western definitely has big play, quick strike capability. North will have to pressure the QB because the receivers will shake free of the DBs.