Who:  South Oldham Dragons (3-3) vs. Atherton Ravens (4-2)

Where:  South Oldham HS; Cy Tucker Field at Mitchell Irvin Stadium    Crestwood, KY

When:  Friday, 9/30/22   Kickoff 7:30 pm ET

Broadcast:  Free live hi-def video coverage starts at 7 pm ET on www.pegasussportsky.com    Andy Kerrick and Matt Hill have the call

One winning streak comes to an end in Crestwood Friday as South Oldham puts its three-game winning streak on the line against Atherton's four-game streak.

South has won the last six contests between the two schools, dating back to 1998.   Last year's 33-3 Dragon win in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs actually was the closest game of the six, during which time Atherton has never scored more than 14 points and South has never scored less than 33 points.

South's 60-7 drubbing of the then-Rebels marked the low point in the series for the Louisville team.

BUT....times, they are a-changing(?)   This Ravens team comes into the matchup ranked as the primary contender in the district to the Dragons' annual dominance.   Atherton last started this well in 2019, when they were also 4-2 after six games.    A loss to South Oldham (50-6) that year and a Dragon victory in the first round of the playoffs ended Atherton's year at a disappointing 5-6.   This year, the Ravens feel that they may have the pieces of the puzzle to keep the strong start going.

A 41-21 pounding of historically tough Danville - coached by the legendary Mark Peach - raised some eyebrows, and last week the Ravens easily handled previously undefeated Seneca by 31 points.    Seneca's resume was somewhat suspect due to the caliber of teams they had beaten, but still....

Not much can be gleaned from Atherton's stats online as they just don't make much sense....(for example, the receivers have caught only 23 passes total, but 11 of them went for TDs?   ....and although 11 TD catches were made, only 10 TD passes were thrown?.....it also appears that vast amounts of data simply haven't been entered yet....)    BUT....the Thompsons are back, and sophomore QuaShawn (1,190 yards passing, 11 TDs, only 4 picks last year) and senior Channce (41 catches, 794 yards, 8 TDs in 2021) were prolific in this attack last season.   The Ravens have a new swagger to their team and a confidence that they can compete for a district title - but any such run must go through Crestwood.

The Crestwood Crew seems to have found its groove of late.   South has not only won three straight, they've done it with "South football" - rushing for over 260 yards in all three wins.    Jeffrey Burton (510 rushing yards / 5 TDs / 85 rushing yards per game) has been particularly effective, but Luke Oliveros had the hot hand, so to speak, in the last game, a 43-0 win over district rival Jeffersontown, with 113 yards rushing and three scores.    South - who has been very, very efficient through the air of late, only threw 12 times against Jtown, completing 6 passes between three different quarterbacks.   The coach's son, Grayson, got some time under center, and completed both of the passes he attempted. 

Wyatt Fowler went "beast-mode" against the Chargers on defense, with 16 total tackles, including 5 of the Dragons' eight sacks.

Sixteen of South's 18 offensive TDs have come on the ground; the passing game has yielded more picks (10) than touchdowns (2), but don't sell the air assault short too quickly.   Nick Hamilton is passing for nearly 140 yards per game while completing about 50% of his passes.   Three different receivers have caught 10 or more passes.

South comes into this game the favorite - probably by multiple scores -  to increase their string of wins over Atherton, but this game may be more interesting than pass matchups.    If the Dragons come in over-confident, this is a Ravens team that just might have the weapons to pull a Friday night surprise.

CM

South leads 6-0 first quarter 

South 13-0 on a Nicky Hamilton TD pass 

South dominating line of scrimmage. Up 20-0.

South 26-0 on a 40 yd Nicky Hamilton pass! 

Halfback pass for a South TD. 32-0 one minute before halftime.