North Oldham "hosts" the Fern Creek Tigers on Saturday 8/19/23 at 7:30 pm ET.

LOCATION is at South Oldham HS in Crestwood, KY

BROADCAST:  FREE, live HD video coverage starts at 7 pm ET on www.pegasussportsky.com

More to come.

Note the time on this one.....kickoff is at 6 pm.    If you don't go to the game, join me and former Oldham County / Jeffersontown coach Mike Shatzer on www.pegasussportsky.com beginning at 5:30 pm.   (click on any of the school logos to get to the broadcast page)

FREE live high def video coverage.    The game will be held at SOUTH OLDHAM HS in Crestwood....

New North coach Brock Roberts comes from the Martha Layne Collins program, where he assisted Coach Lucas for 8 years.   He also served two years as the head coach at Eminence, where he played in HS (WR/DB).

It's starting to be a few years since those "glory days" for North, when the Mustangs were perennially ranked in the top 10 and the year when the Mustangs came within 6 seconds of playing in the state championship.   Roberts is trying to resurrect that winning attitude among a group of kids who aren't quite old enough to remember it.   

The Mustangs have 67 kids on the roster this year, including 17 seniors.   

Jace Bullock returns for his third season as the North signal-caller, giving the North offense some veteran consistency at the most important position on the field.    Another key player to watch on offense:   Gray Schmittel, who will play slot receiver.    Schmittel is a rugged receiver who is smart and finds ways to get open.   He's also a capable backup quarterback who looks to be their heir apparent at that position in 2024.

North will go uptempo this year, featuring a vertical passing game.   In fact, expect the Mustangs to air the ball out a lot more than in previous years, as they try to get athletes in space.   Roberts says the offense should look a lot like the Collins' Titans' attack.

Defensively, the Mustangs will run a base 4-3.   Look for North to try to put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks with stunts and blitzes.    

 

 

Bump.

This could be a very exciting North offense if Coach Roberts gets what he's looking for out of this no-huddle, 4-wideout look - led by a 3-year starter at QB.      

Fern Creek will counter with a tremendous runner in Mykel Malone, who rushed for over 1,000 yards last year.   

The matchup to watch may be the North defense, which likely will be playing without star LB Noah Leber, who led the team in tackles with 144 last season, vs. the Fern Creek offense.    Leber is cleared to play, but will likely be held out one more week.   North's D can win the matchup if they can force Creek to throw the ball, something the Tigers do not do well.    But if the Mustangs allow the Tigers to grind the game away on the ground behind Malone, it could be trouble for Coach Roberts' first game.