Oldham County travels to George Rogers Clark to open the KY Class 6A football playoffs on Friday 11-20-2020.

GRC won the regular season meeting, 48-28, after an hour and a half lightning delay to start the second half.  The game was tied at 28 at the half.

Thoughts?   Azariah Isreal had over 200 yards rushing for the Cardinals in the first game.

The game will be aired live video on www.pegasussportsky.com, beginning at 6 pm.

Thoughts?

CM

Interesting first round matchup. Probably be a close one.

Oldham County is 4-3 and won their last game, 37-17, over 4A county rival North Oldham, a game in which the Colonels led, 37-7, before the Mustangs got two late scores against the Oldham reserves.

Jr QB Sam Young leads the OC attack.   The dual threat QB has thrown for 1,302 yards and 11 TDs in the COVID-shortened season, with only 5 picks.   (those five INT came in two games against county rivals South Oldham and North Oldham....against all other opponents, Young has 9 TDs and 1 INT).    Young is in his second full season as the Colonels' starting signal caller, and has thrown for 3,275 yards in his career, with 39 TDs and 12 INT, while completing over 60% of his passes.

Oldham's passing game has featured a multitude of receivers, with 13 different receivers having caught at least one pass.   Greyson Huff has consistently produced, leading all receivers with 34 catches for 381 yards and 4 scores.   

Young is also the Colonels' leading rusher, with 458 yards and 4 TDs.

George Rogers Clark is 3-4, but the Cardinals have won three straight, including a 22-0 victory over Great Crossings in their last outing.

Sr RB Azariah Isreal is the catalyst for the GRC offense.   The University of Louisville signee saw limited action in the Cardinals' first four games, but when he took over as the lead runner in the backfield over the last three games, GRC hasn't been defeated.    Isreal rushed for 123 yards and 3 TDs against Madison Central, 318 yards and 4 TDs against Oldham County, and 229 yards and 2 scores in the regular season finale against Great Crossings.   On the season, Isreal has rushed for 946 yards, or 157.7 yards per game, with 11 TDs.    In his career in Winchester, Isreal has rushed for 4,180 yards on just 540 carries (7.7 ypc average) with 49 touchdowns.

Cardinal QB Jordan Manley probably doesn't get the props he deserves, with Isreal getting much of the publicity.   Manley has an impressive season so far, throwing for 1,204 yards and 12 scores, with just 4 INT, while completing 62.2% of his passes.

Dawson Gay has been Manley's primary target, with 44 catches for 613 yards and 6 TDs.

Offensively, both teams have the weapons to turn this into crowd-pleasing, high-scoring game.   The real question may well sit with the defenses.

Oldham's 3-4 set has been paced by senior linebackers Jalen Stratton (48 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 TFL) and Thomas Dempley (40 tackles, 8 TFL, 2 sacks).      The Colonels' defense has been a strong suit this year, averaging 6 tackles for a loss per game and approximately 2 takeaways per contest.   The Oldham "D" has kept the Colonels in games, and two of Oldham's losses came in the final moments of the game, by 7 and 5 points (South Oldham and Bryan Station, respectively).   Only GRC bested the Colonels by more than one score, and that game was 28-all at halftime.

GRC Senior linebacker Sam Neely leads the Cardinals with 51 tackles, including 5 TFL and 3 sacks.   Junior linebacker Jeremy Clem - the Cards' #2 tackler with 48 on the year - had a monster game against Oldham in the last meeting, with 10 total tackles.    GRC's defense has not put up major defensive numbers, averaging only 3 TFLs a game and managing just four takeaways on the season, but the Cardinals have shutout their opponents over their last six quarters.

Pegasus will go on the air with the video coverage beginning at 7 pm.   www.pegasussportsky.com    This should be a fun one!

CM

Three more days till kickoff - and the game is still "on"!   Hold your breath....

 

Oldham County's improvement, or lack thereof, will help tell the story on Friday. They fell apart in the first game. It was a performance that stands out amidst an otherwise very good defensive season for the Colonels.

I'll take GRC, because of the three score margin in the regular season, but I think it'll be much tighter this time around. That rugged early season schedule for the Cardinals seems to be paying off.

1 hour ago, DevilMayCare said:

Oldham County's improvement, or lack thereof, will help tell the story on Friday. They fell apart in the first game. It was a performance that stands out amidst an otherwise very good defensive season for the Colonels.

I'll take GRC, because of the three score margin in the regular season, but I think it'll be much tighter this time around. That rugged early season schedule for the Cardinals seems to be paying off.

I think you are right. Oldham County hangs around but ultimately loses in a closer game than last time.

1 hour ago, DevilMayCare said:

Oldham County's improvement, or lack thereof, will help tell the story on Friday. They fell apart in the first game. It was a performance that stands out amidst an otherwise very good defensive season for the Colonels.

I left a key word out. I'm talking specifically defensive improvement here.

Interestingly, I think the real matchup may well be the Oldham offense against the GRC defense.

Yes, the OC Defense vs GRC's prolific offense will tell a lot about the game's outcome.  I have to agree with DevilMayCare....

But....Oldham QB Sam Young has had some of his best games against GRC.  And - at the end of the day - for Oldham to win, I think the Colonels will need a big offensive output.

I think GRC will get some scores.   Maybe not the 48 points they got last time, but I think they will be hard to keep out of the end zone all night.   So the question becomes, can the GRC defense hold down the Colonels - or - can Oldham keep up, offensively?   I think Oldham can - and I think this may well be a shootout at the OK Corral.

This one really could be fun to watch.

CM

On this week's episode of Big Things Kentucky Azariah Israel announced he is sitting out the rest of the season. This is a huge blow to GRC. 

3 minutes ago, Big Things Kentucky said:

On this week's episode of Big Things Kentucky Azariah Israel announced he is sitting out the rest of the season. This is a huge blow to GRC. 

Huge blow to the Cardinal offense. With that being said I like Oldham County 35-21.

17 minutes ago, Big Things Kentucky said:

On this week's episode of Big Things Kentucky Azariah Israel announced he is sitting out the rest of the season. This is a huge blow to GRC. 

That's crushing news for the Cardinals. It must be equally crushing for Israel, having to inform his coaches and teammates and knowing that he's played his last game at GRC. 

Video: https://livesportscaster.com/video/8291/ky-hs-class-6a-football-playoffs-oldham-county-vs-george-rogers-clark-11-20-2020-7-pm-et-pegasus-sports-network/

I'll post updates to this thread as I can during the broadcast.

CM

20 hours ago, DevilMayCare said:

That's crushing news for the Cardinals. It must be equally crushing for Israel, having to inform his coaches and teammates and knowing that he's played his last game at GRC. 

Wow!  This contest has taken several turns making it pretty interesting to follow.

While I understand and would never hold back a young man who is doing what he thinks is in his best interest, I can't also help but think that he is giving up moments and games that he will never get back.  He is looking out for his future (in theory) and I certainly support that, but at the same time the games where you are tested (like this playoff game) are what you remember the rest of your life.  I can't help but think he looks back on this at some point and says maybe I should have played.

kickoff at 7 pm instead of 730....      

Pegasus on air at 6:45