North Oldham (0-3) travels to Shelbyville, KY on Friday to face district rival Shelby County (2-2).

Current standings of Class 4A District 4

Central 1-0

Waggener 1-0

Franklin County 0-0

Shelby County 0-1

North Oldham 0-1

North Oldham comes in after a disappointing fourth period allowed the Waggener Wildcats to rally in the second half for a 37-21 win over the Mustangs last Friday in Goshen.      The Mustangs had owned a 7-6 advantage at the half, and played toe-to-toe with the favored Wildcats throughout the third period.

Likewise, Shelby County comes into the game licking their wounds after a 44-0 pasting on the road at Central, in a game in which the Yellowjackets' speed proved to be too much for Todd Shipley's Rockets.   

In a district where one district win may be enough to punch a ticket to the playoffs, this figures to be a critical game for both teams, as Central, Franklin County, and Waggener figure to be the top 3 (favored) teams in the district, leaving perhaps just the one open spot for a playoff team.

The two teams have met five times in the history of the schools, with all five games coming in the last five seasons.   Shelby County is 5-0 all-time versus North Oldham, and the Rockets have won four of the five meetings convincingly:

2019  Shelby County 48, North Oldham 6

2018 Shelby County 29, North Oldham 3

2017 Shelby County 23, North Oldham 20

2016 Shelby County 40, North Oldham 14

2015 Shelby County 24, North Oldham 7

Shelby's 49-6 win last season, the largest margin of the series, was an entirely one-dimensional game as the Rockets' offense came exclusively on the ground.   Shelby had 469 yards rushing and 0 yards through the air - in fact, Shelby did not attempt a single pass.   It seemed that everyone ran effectively for the Rockets:   Anthony Bradford 9 carries - 155 yards, 3 TDs;  Zach Miracle 9 carries 105 yards, 1 TD;   Dominic Bosco 6 carries 86 yards 1 TD;  William Davis 5 carries 52 yards, and Griffyn Spencer 3 carries 40 yards.

North Oldham was held to -5 yards on the ground last year and couldn't make up the difference through the air.

The bad news for North is that three of those five runners that torched the Mustangs last year are back:   Bradford, Miracle, and Spencer.

Not a lot has changed for Shelby this year; the Rockets still will try to run the ball as much as possible, and both Bradford (330 yards rushing through the first 3 games, with 6 TDs) and QB Zach Miracle (329 yards rushing and 3 TDs through 3 games) have been very effective.   (Stats vs. Central are not yet available).

Shelby has yet to defeat a team that owns a victory this season, having beaten winless Frankfort and Great Crossings, while losing games to ranked competition in North Bullitt and Central.

North Oldham is a bit of a different team in Joe Gamsky's fifth season at the school.   The Mustangs are very, very young, with just six seniors on the roster.   The offense is keyed by first-year starter Nick Freeland, a junior.   Freeland has shown some promise as a runner, but has struggled at times throwing the ball.   In the Mustangs' first two games - losses to Western and top 10 5A South Oldham - Freeland threw twice as many picks (6) as TDs (3).

If North gets the passing game going, the Mustangs have some dangerous receivers, particularly the speedy Blake Wetzel, who has the wheels to turn a 5 yard drag route in to an 80 yard TD play.

On the ground, the Mustangs feature a possible D1 talent in senior Austin Gibson.  "Gibby" averaged approximately 100 yards a game in the first two games, and showed legitimate breakaway speed.  Against South Oldham, he also recorded a 95 yard INT return for a touchdown.   

On defense, the Mustangs feature something different for a Joe Gamsky-coached team as they will line up in a 3-4.   Gamsky, a 4-3 disciple, switched defenses this year to take advantage of the fact the Mustangs' roster featured a plethora of quick linebackers.

Though winless, the Mustangs have shown significant improvement over the 2019 North team; the Mustangs were within a TD of the South Oldham Dragons and had the ball inside South territory, but yielded the ball on downs and gave up a quick touchdown late in the fourth.   A couple of big-play garbage TDs for South created a big final margin, but the game was a one score affair with less than five minutes to play.    And last week, North held a 7-6 halftime advantage against the athletic Waggener Wildcats before giving ground in the fourth period.

One thing's for sure:  There is no secret about what the coaches want to do.   This could be the fastest game of the night between two teams that will run / run / run.   

As there will be limited space in the stands for the fans, be sure to watch the game LIVE on www.pegasussportsky.com, beginning with a pregame show at 7 pm ET.   The game will also be available on the site as an archive for one year after the game.

Colonelmike

Where are the Mustangs and Rockets?  

I am hoping to see this discussion thread liven up as the week goes on....

I am looking forward to watching this game.   I've called so many games at Shelby County HS over the last 41 years....such a tremendous tradition in Rocket Country.   And Todd Shipley is, without a doubt, one of my favorite coaches in the NC KY area....

On the other side, I've been covering North Oldham's teams since the school opened in 2003, and - though the Mustangs have been in a bit of a slump the last few years - I've been impressed by the improvement I've seen from this particular team.

Shelby has to be a strong favorite in this game, but it's always fun to watch young, talented teams like North - because at some point, the youngsters "get it", and the talent comes through.   Hoping for a good game Friday.

CM

For Shelby County, the speed of this game should feel about ten steps slower after playing Central last week. North Oldham's given up a lot of yardage on the ground the past two games, and as @ColonelMike pointed out, that's Shelby's strength. I think the Rockets take flight on Friday. 

This should be an interesting game.    Shelby's new-look power game vs North's finesse game.

Live video coverage begins at 7 pm ET on www.pegasussportsky.com.   (The broadcast is also archived).

CM

Teams that control the ball on the ground usually control the game. 

end of one quarter   Shelby County 8  North Oldham 6

North scored on an 85 yard fumble return on Shelby's first drive....

Rockets scored on their third drive after getting the ball at the North 12 following a botched North punt.

Otherwise a stalemate so far

HALF

Shelby County 22

North Oldham 6

Shelby with a 35 yard INT return for a score by Griffin Spencer with 35.9 seconds left in the half to take a two score lead into the locker room.   A.J. Bradford ran in the two point conversion to make it 22-6.

Both teams have scored a defensive TD; both teams with two turnovers.

North (unofficially) with just 35 yards of offense (22 rushing and 13 passing on 2 of 12 passing, with 2 INT)

Shelby has only thrown one pass, which was intercepted.   The Rockets have (unofficially) 202 yards rushing.

Shelby 28 North 6   9:47 to go in third

Bosco 6 yard run   his second TD

Miracle 29 yard TD run.

Bosco run for 2 points.

Shelby County 36 -6 with 5:44 left in the third

end of 3

Shelby 36-6

Rockets driving at North 31

A J Bradford 33 yard run for a TD

Shelby County 50 North Oldham 12

3:24 to play

FINAL

Shelby County 50

North Oldham 12