North Oldham vs. Western Predictions/Updates

[ColonelMike]

North Oldham (1-3) faces Western (1-2) at home on Friday 9/17/21.  

The Mustangs whipped Louisville Holy Cross two weeks ago (27-7) and acquitted themselves well against a bigger, deeper, more experienced South Oldham team last week, trailing just 7-0 on a controversial first half TD before fading late in a 27-0 loss.

North Oldham has speed on defense, and has garnered respect among all their opponents with their aggressive, yet smart defensive efforts.    The problem for North is that the defense stays on the field too long; the offense has struggled to gain yardage..   Starting QB Jace Bullock had started to get the offense in gear with his passing against Holy Cross, but a broken collarbone ended his season.   Backup QB Nick Freeland has experience - he was the starter last year - but his skillset is very different.    A solid athlete, he isn't going to threaten the deep ball, and North is having to adjust to quicker 3-step drops.   A smart player, Freeland isn't likely to turn the ball over often.   LB Mike Davis is the real deal; the junior has 51 tackles in four games, including 6 TFL and 2 sacks.   Noah Leber (34 tackles) and Bryce Grady (23 tackles with 6 TFL) will always be around the ball.   North is capable of getting plenty of pressure up front with their front four, which is important since the secondary has been susceptible to the deep ball.   

Western will likely be bigger across the board, and probably faster on offense.   The Warriors' "O" vs. the Mustangs' "D" will probably be the marquee matchup of the night.   

The Warriors are coming off a 45-0 loss at the hands of Mercer County in which they rushed for only 58 yards.   But  QB TiJan McAfee-Young has a big arm and receivers who can provide big plays.    Don Starling (3 catches, 106 yards) and Kieran McMurry (3 catches, 60 yards) both had big games last week.

Kilieon Jones leads the Warrior defense with 27 tackles in three games; 21 solo.   He also has a fumble recovery.

I haven't seen Western, but this is a big play team that will force North to play every down defensively straight-up; the Mustangs will have to be very careful about how and when they blitz, if at all.

This game may be decided by all the little things....who gets the takeaways (Western has 3 fumble recoveries and 4 interceptions in 3 games) ....or perhaps, who wins the field position war (Lucas Silverthorn of North is one of the best kickers/ punters in metro Louisville).   

Free, live high definition video coverage begins at 7 pm ET on www.pegasussportsky.com

[Tigerpride94]

I think North gets the win in a competitive game.

[DevilMayCare]

Live video stream can be found here.