The Dragons (3-1) and Colonels (4-0) square off for the unofficial Oldham County championship. Oldham County gave the Dragons one of their most challenging games last season, a 16-6 South Oldham victory. Both teams are coming in hot. Who will reign supreme in the battle for OC supremacy?

South has too many weapons. OC is playing well but they haven’t faced any competition yet. I’m saying South by 2 TD’s.

These teams know each other very well. Both have a run first offense and quick, aggressive defenses. South is led my FB Keaton Martin, a JR with 389 yds rushing. JT Benson is averaging 14 yds per carry and Colton Bowlden is averaging 9 yds per carry. Pierce had his best day passing vs Boone County, going 6-6 in the first half. He looked a lot more comfortable throwing and is coming along as a starter. Leading WR Ethan Bednarczyk is a threat to either take a short pass and turn it into a big gain or get over the top and take in a long pass. Both Benson and Bowlden are big time receiving threats out of the backfield.

 

South's defense is led by a trio of SR Linebackers in 2 yr starter MLB Mason Bowman, 3 yr starter OLB Noah Mitchell and 1st year starter OLB Cade White. Cade is very tough and is the fastest of the three. He has been a big surprise and playing very well. The DB's and Safeties and experienced, fast and fly to the ball. The line is led by SR DE's Jack Herald and Luke Clark. This defense held CAL to a season low 21 points without Benson. I look for them to be aggressive vs OC and attack their running game.

 

In my heart South has a lot of weapons and could score big. However, this being a rivalry game I am going South 27-14.

South Oldham's outstanding offensive attack takes on Oldham County's viscous defense. It should be a fun one. I'll take the dragons in a 17-14 nail biter.

Interestingly, the pollsters are all in disarray. Here, South is listed as #4 in 5A....AP (last I saw) had Oldham #5.

 

Both teams have played a relatively soft schedule so far, but South's has probably been a tad tougher. Certainly CAL was a tremendous opponent right out of the gate, but the Dragons stumbled in that one - the only loss either team has coming into the game.

 

It's been a while since this game wasn't expected to be a lopsided affair. South has ruled the district, winning six straight. Not too long before that, Oldham was the district king. This year, this very well may be the game that decides the district regular season title - in the first week of the district season(!) This year, it's hard to find anyone who expects a blowout for either side.

 

Two tremendous coaches on the sidelines....Jamie Reed came into South Oldham 8 years ago and turned around a program that had fallen on hard times. 8 years later, the district goes through Crestwood, and the Dragons have been a fun team to watch!

 

On the OC side, second year coach Mike Fox has really impressed. In his first season, he took the Colonels to a 6-5 mark, their first winning season since 2010. This year, the 4-0 start is one of the best in school history, perhaps going all the way back to the 1984 squad (that went 11-0 in the regular season and ultimately finished 13-1).

 

South's offense was a bit of a worry for Coach Reed in the preseason, and after scoring just 3 points in their preseason game and 3 points vs. CAL, there was cause for concern. But the Dragons have scored 42, 46, and 56 in their last three games, all wins, over Doss, North Oldham, and Boone County. I'd say any early season panic can subside now....

 

Oldham is putting up the points, too - the Colonels have scored at least 31 points in each of their four wins - but it may be the defense that's key for Coach Fox. The Colonels didn't allow a point for the first 10 quarters of the season, and come into this game giving up just 5 ppg.

 

Both teams have multiple players who can make sudden, impact plays. South's running back trio of Keaton Martin, J.T. Benson, and Colton Bowlden fit well into Jamie Reed's option-style attack out of the wing-T formation. Make no mistake; it's Martin that Oldham MUST stop - the incredibly talented and speedy fullback averages 97 yards per game. QB Anthony Pierce rarely throws - though with this rushing attack, he rarely needs to - throwing the ball just 6-7 times a game. But he's been remarkably effective when he has thrown the ball, connecting on nearly 60% of his passes with 4 TDs and 0 INT. On the receiving end, Ethan Bednarczyk probably doesn't get enough credit. Of South's 17 completions, Bednarczyk has snagged 7 passes for 163 yards - just under 25 yards a catch.

 

Defensively, the South linebackers are the stars of the show, led by #44 Mason Bowman, with 37 total tackles.

 

Much like South, Oldham will counter with a three-headed monster committee of runners. Lucas Jones averages 125 yards per game rushing and has scored 6 times. Juan Tapia with 249 yards and QB Parker Caudill with 212 rushing yards give the Colonels three runners who - combined - average over 200 yards rushing a game.

 

Oldham has the ability to change their offense as they have an extremely capable backup QB. Whereas Parker Caudill is a good passer (21/39 303 yards, 4 TD / 1 INT) who is always a threat to run, Tyler Barnes is more of a pocket passer who is a little quicker than he looks.

 

Ten Colonels have caught passes this season so far, led by speedy Jalen Moore, who has 10 catches for 170 yards and 2 TDs. His speed will definitely challenge the South secondary.

 

The Oldham 3-5 defense is anchored on the inside by Deven Cancel, who has shown a remarkable ability to penetrate and disrupt; he leads the Colonels with 22 total tackles. Outside linebackers Preston Dykes and Jacob Ratliff are particularly dangerous - both are fast, and each have 17 total tackles on the season.

 

Both teams have a strong youth movement coming up. One such example is freshman Sam Young of Oldham, who has 3 interceptions in 4 games.

 

Being as to how I cover and support both teams, I won't make a prediction here; I'll keep my opinion to myself. But I do believe that this is going to be a really exciting game, and that Buckner is going to be chock-full of football fans Friday night. If you live in Oldham County, you don't want to miss this game, but if you can't attend in person, Pegasus Sports will air live video beginning at 7 pm ET at The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN

 

We will also archive the broadcast for one year.

 

Good luck to both teams!!!

 

CM

I will have to take the underdog in this fight. Oldham County wins this one in a great game that OC scores twice late in the game and pulls away in the end. 28-7.

Interestingly, the pollsters are all in disarray. Here, South is listed as #4 in 5A....AP (last I saw) had Oldham #5.

Given what we know about the AP Rankings, they probably don't realize South Oldham and Oldham County are two different schools.

 

Incidentally, BluegrassPreps has Oldham County at #13.

 

But, we will see come Friday.

Every game needs a Colonel Mike type preview write up.

 

Well done.

This game is also going to be all about the "mental aspect" of football. South - with six consecutive district titles under their belts - has gotten that swagger coaches like. They EXPECT to win and it's expected that you won't do anything to let your teammates down in the district title chase.

 

Oldham, on the other hand, doesn't have a player on the roster who has won a district title. Will the Colonels maintain their cool if things go badly early on for them? If they can, they can certainly win this game. If they don't keep their cool, South's experience over the last six seasons may be the deciding factor....