Final.

 

5A South Oldham (2-0) 47  4A North Oldham 21 (0-2)

I'll post a recap tonight.   Busy Saturday.

GREAT game.    Most observers (myself included) felt that South would have this one in hand a little earlier - but in the end, the Dragons didn't put this one away until the final five minutes.     North - despite being painfully young - has dramatically improved, and they pushed the Dragons to the proverbial "limit", trailing just 28-21 midway through the fourth - and with the ball in South territory.

In the end, the South offense just couldn't be stopped when North needed a stop, and the Mustangs failed to convert on two critical fourth downs late in the game.

Still - very entertaining game for the fans!    A worthy rivalry contest.

Details tonight.

CM

South Oldham     14     14     0     19     -     47

North Oldham        0     14     7       0     -     21

South improves to 2-0 after beating a county rival in a close road game for the second straight week.

"Close", you say?  Yes, indeed.   Forget the final score for a moment.

South Oldham came into the game leading the all-time series, 9-6, and having beaten North in five straight meetings, during which the Dragons had outscored the Mustangs, 188-7.  Facing a youthful North team with just 6 seniors, the Class 5A #8 Dragons figured to be a heavy favorite to win handily again.

In the end, the Dragons made it six straight, but this game was a blast for the fans - a blood pressure elevator for the coaches - and totally in doubt until the final 3 minutes of the game.

A quick synopsis:

First quarter - South took advantage of three turnovers by North (2 lost fumbles and a turnover on downs) to grab a 14-0 first quarter lead.   The defenses largely controlled the period, but because of the turnovers, North couldn't keep the ball out of the NOHS end of the field, and South finally capitalized on the short field with 4:55 left on a one yard run by senior wingback Ethan Snider - his third touchdown on the season already.   Three minutes later, Kyle Smythe scored South's second TD on a 6 yard run.    Grayson Klehr booted two PATs, and the Dragons had a two TD lead at 14-0.

Snider just missed on his second straight 100 yard rushing game, per the Pegasus (unofficial) stats.   He finished the game with 94 yards and a score.

Second Quarter - With 8:21 to play in the half, Luke Oliveros, a 5'8" sophomore running back, became the third Dragon to score in the rushing game, taking it in from 15 yards out.  Klehr's kick made it 21-0 and the Dragons appeared to be firmly in control.

But North responded almost immediately, via the big play.   On the first play from scrimmage following the Oliveros TD, North QB Nick Freeland handed off to senior running back Austin Gibson.   Gibson started into the interior of the line, bounced it to the outside, straight-arming a defender on the way to a 65 yard touchdown run, pulling North to within 21-7.

South answered with a long time-consuming drive that led to a 2 yard touchdown plunge by fullback Kayden Anderson with 2:38 left in the half.    

North, however, had the final laugh of the half, and again it was via the big play.  Freeland launched a dangerous pass between defenders and somehow Liam Hutson came up with the ball, dashing 58 yards for the score to again pull North within two scores at 28-14.

HALF:   South Oldham 28  North Oldham 14 - South had established an ability to run and pass the ball effectively.   The Dragons rushed for 132 yards in the first half on 28 carries for an average of 4.7 yards a carry.    Through the air, Alex Brown had gone 7 of 12 passing for 103 yards.      North had shown the big play ability, but the Mustangs had been hindered by four turnovers, 2 fumbles lost, 1 interception, and one turnover on downs.   North had a solid first half in yardage - 109 yards rushing / 74 yards passing.

Third Quarter - Midway through the period, South was driving, at the North Oldham 5.   But Brown was intercepted by Austin Gibson, and the speedster took the ball 95 yards for the defensive score, pulling North to within 28-21 with 6:19 left in the third.    That drive, and defensive highlight play, basically defined the third period, and the lead was just 7 heading into the final 12 minutes.

Fourth Quarter - North had the ball when the third ended, and they threatened early in the final frame.   The Mustangs drove down to the South Oldham 39, but on fourth-and-one, Freeland's pass to Liam Hutson skittered off the receiver's hands, and South took over on downs.  The Dragons immediately drove downfield, and on 3rd and 10 from the North 14, Brown - who was just 1 of 6 passing in the second half with a pick to that point - threw a touchdown pass to senior wideout Kellen McGee, who jumped high in the air to make the scoring grab right on the goal line.   

A bad snap on the extra point kept South from converting, but the Dragons had a 34-21 lead with 7:16 to play.   

That set the stage for the decisive drive.

With enough time to pretty much use their regular offensive plays, North moved quickly downfield, covering real estate in big chunks.

Freeland connected with Lucas Silverthorn for 14 yards to move the Mustangs into South territory.   A ten yard quarterback keeper by Freeland moved the ball to the SO 37, and Austin Gibson took the ball around the right end for a 17 yard gain to the Dragon 20.

Freeland took the ball off left tackle for 8, and Gibson had a short gain to set up 3rd and 1....a QB keeper by Freeland up the middle moved the ball to around the South 6 to give the Mustangs first-and-goal.      

Freeland was flushed out of the pocket on first down by the aggressive South pursuit, and it was 2nd and goal at the South five with 3:56 left.   

South's Kayden Anderson, however, was about to make two of the biggest defensive plays of the night on back-to-back plays.

The second down play might have been the key play of the game....Freeland, keeping the ball around the left end on second down, appeared to have an open path to the end zone, but Kayden Anderson appeared out of nowhere to stop Freeland at the five and bring up third down.   If Anderson doesn't make that tackle, NO pulls to within a touchdown with just enough time left to keep the outcome in doubt.  

On third down, North ran an option left, and the pitch back to Gibson was read perfectly by Anderson, who tackled Gibson back at the 12 for a loss of nearly 7 yards.   That left North facing a fourth and goal from the 12, and Freeland's fourth down toss to the end zone fell incomplete, ending North's last major scoring threat and all but sealing the win for the Dragons.

South, however, would get two insurance touchdowns in the final three minutes.

Sophomore running back Jeffery Burton blasted through the North defense - with all 11 defenders crowding the line of scrimmage in an attempt to stop the run and strip the ball - and once he got past that initial rush, he had clear sailing for 53 yards to the end zone with 2:23 left, pushing the margin to an insurmountable 41-21 lead.

On the Mustang's ensuing possession, star South linebacker Austin Covington picked off a Freeland pass and returned it 58 yards for the score with 1:38 to play, accounting for the final score of 47-21 (the conversion failed).

Great game.  Lots of fun - everything a rivalry game should be.   North is vastly improved, and as that youth matures, they will grow by leaps and bounds.   The Mustangs are especially dangerous with their skill kids....Austin Gibson is the real deal at RB - fast, smart, and hard to tackle.    Showed a real talent for sliding off of contact and stepping out of tackles.      Blake Wetzel is a fast receiver who is dangerous in the open field....  and Liam Hutson is a fighter when it comes to 50-50 balls.

South blinked for a moment in the second half, but the Dragons made the plays they had to, when they had to.   Ethan Snider had his second straight impressive running game.     The Dragon running game unofficially amassed an impressive 325 yards on 47 carries (6.9 yards per carry), led by Snider's 94 yards on 10 carries and a score.  Burton added 65 yards, sophomore Jack McCubbin had 58 yards (on just 7 carries), and Anderson had 55 yards as South kept pounding the ball at North with multiple runners with fresh legs.

Snider also made a big impact on the South passing game as he made 4 catches for 60 yards.

All told, South had (unofficially) 457 yards of total offense in the game.

CONGRATS to South on the big win that moves them to 2-0.   Kudos to North on valiant effort!

CM