The Class 6A playoffs matches the Defenders of Bryan Station against the Oldham County Colonels in Buckner this Friday.

 

Oldham won the regular season matchup, 41-28, in Lexington back on October 18th.

 

Oldham features multiple weapons, including sophomore QB Sam Young, who completed over 66% of his passes this year with very few interceptions. (1,240 yards passing, 17 TDs, 4 INT) A deceptive runner, Young is capable of taking off on long TD runs when the play breaks down, and has run for 472 yards and a team-high 11 rushing touchdowns.

 

Juan Tapia is the top Colonel rusher, with 933 yards and 8 TDs in nine games.

 

Young has a deep stable of receivers to throw to, including three with 20+ catches, led by senior Parker Caudill (31 catches, 407 yards, 8 TDs.)

 

Linebacker Bryce Rochet has been the clear leader on defense, with 60 total tackles this year. But the Colonels may get a boost if senior LB Preston Dykes is able to return from an injury suffered against South Oldham. Dykes has 29 tackles in five games.

 

In the October matchup, Oldham's "big 3" all had big games: Young threw for 179 yards on 9 of 15 passing, with 3 TDs and 1 INT; Tapia rushed for 181 yards and 2 TDs, and Caudill caught 6 passes for 110 yards and all three of Young's touchdowns.

 

But the Colonel defense struggled to hold down the Bryan Station running attack, which finished with 265 yards and allowed Lexington Bryan Station to rally late in the game.

 

Joseph Bond had 190 yards rushing and 1 TD for the Defenders in that game, on only 20 carries. For the season, Bond has 713 yards rushing and 7 TDs.

 

The Defenders want to keep it close so that they can key on their running game; the passing game has mustered just 790 yards on the season, with 8 TDs and 9 INT, while three quarterbacks have combined for just a 42% completion rate. The Defenders would prefer not to have to win this game through the air.

 

When they do go to the air, Dadrien Taylor and Damin Green are the prime targets; both have 18 catches on the season (Green 300 yards/2 TDs, and Taylor 234 yards / 2 TDs)

 

Defensively, Bryson Fields has been a beast for the Defenders this year, with 92 total tackles, including 7.5 for a loss.

 

The game will be broadcast on the internet (video) live, beginning at 7 pm ET. The game will also be archived for one year online. The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN

 

CM

Oldham Co has no right playing in that district. They should've been in the district with Trinity, Ballard, and Eastern. I don't know what strings were pulled, but I hope OC wins long enough to face Trinity.

One of our hosts thinks Station is going to win. #BigThings

Oldham Co has no right playing in that district. They should've been in the district with Trinity, Ballard, and Eastern. I don't know what strings were pulled, but I hope OC wins long enough to face Trinity.

 

Intriguing comment. What's your beef with Oldham County? Is getting put in a district where all of your road trips are super long supposed to be some sort of prize?

One of our hosts thinks Station is going to win. #BigThings

 

Oldham's undoubtedly the favorite - but the first meeting was decided by just 13 points. And Bryan Station is routinely one of the speediest teams in the Lexington area. Speed kills. Every play has the potential to "go to the house." This game is no sure thing for the favorites.

 

CM

Intriguing comment. What's your beef with Oldham County? Is getting put in a district where all of your road trips are super long supposed to be some sort of prize?

 

They only traveled to Lexington once this season. They were awarded two road trips every other year in exchange for dodging Trinity and Ballard every year. I noticed they played Eastern this season though. Curious.

Oldham almost always plays Eastern. Practically a neighborhood rivalry. Before this year's game, Oldham had actually not played the Eagles the last four years - but before that, the two teams had played in 12 of 15 seasons. With Mike Fox in at OC, I would expect that 4 year interlude is over for good...

 

You mentioned Ballard earlier....Ballard has been on their schedule 12 times in the last 22 seasons (11 regular season, 1 playoffs)... Oldham has previously had success against Ballard, although the last few meetings ended badly during years Oldham was in rebuilding mode. I really doubt a team that played three straight top 10 teams on the road this year (all non-district) - 6A Fern Creek, 6A Manual, and 5A South Oldham -is dodging Ballard.

 

Both Eastern and Ballard have been good rivalries for the Colonels over the last 20 years....

 

CM