South Oldham (4-1) and Jeffersontown (3-1) open district play in class 5A against each other this week in Crestwood. Last year, this was a cakewalk for the Chargers, but this year looks to be completely different.

 

Jeffersontown comes in with perhaps their most impressive team in many, many years. The won their first three games easily over teams they were expected to beat (3A North Oldham, Waggener, and Iroquois), before losing in overtime last week, 22-16, to a very, very good Western squad.

 

The Chargers feature a veteran QB in Joey Pierce, who is completing 50% of his passes and has thrown for over 600 yards, but their primary offensive weapon is DeMichael Jackson, who has rushed for 516 yards and 9 TDs on just 76 carries. I wondered how effective Jackson would be this year compared to last year, when the Chargers had three similar backs that kept the defensive pressure off each other, but despite having a target squarely on his chest, Jackson has proven to be a very successful runner. He's not just elusive, he has a second gear - not many will catch him from behind.

 

Harry Cross (14 catches - 269 yards - 3 TDs) and Demytree Gipson (12 catches - 203 yards - 1 TD) are the primary receivers for Jtown, and both are dangerous.

 

Up front, on both sides of the ball, the Chargers bring a veteran line that has good size and quickness.

 

In an early season game against North, the Chargers were primarily their own worst enemy on the field, with a lot of penalties and mental errors, but I'm sure they have corrected some of those issues over the last two contests.

 

South Oldham, under first year coach Jamie Reed, has bolted out of the gate and is off to its best start since the 2005 and 2006 teams both went 4-1 to start the season. But both of those teams struggled in district play, and both won just two more games the rest of the season. South will almost certainly be favored to win over Grant County and Owen County the rest of the way, so 6 wins appears probable - can the Dragons take the next step and knock off the three teams they will be underdogs against - Jtown, Oldham County, and Anderson County?

 

That question begins to be answered this week against the Chargers. South will run four different backs at Jtown...Michael Gray is the fastest Dragon, and has run for 380 yards and two scores...Jake Nichter is arguably one of the toughest players on the team, pound for pound, and broke a 54 yard TD run against North Oldham last week. Nichter has 228 yards rushing and 4 scores. Marc Stephens is averaging nearly 10 yards per carry, with 358 yards and three scores on a mere 36 carries. Stu Williams is the fourth back, a powerful north-south runner with strength and tremendous speed, he has 110 yards on 19 carries.

 

Sophomore Jack Sherry seems to have settled in a QB for the Dragons. The tall (6'4"), strong-armed Sherry has tremendous upside, and is improving week by week. He has completed 14 of 30 passes for 428 yards and 6 TDs, with only two picks. Backup QB Cody Kollenberg gives the Dragons a different dimension when he's in there; allowing South to run the option with a fast running QB. Kollenberg started the first game of the season vs. Woodford County.

 

Jacob Lamb (6 catches - 199 yards - 4 scores), Cody Kollenberg (6 catches - 160 yards - 1 score), and Stu Williams (4 catches - 154 yards - 1 score) led the team in receiving.

 

Defensively, linebacker Jeremy Muse leads the team with 23 solo tackles.

 

The Dragons are reaping the benefits this year of playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores the past two years; they lost a lot of games the last couple of seasons, playing essentially a JV team against varsity squads, but the result is a veteran 2010 ballclub. The OL and DL are solid, with big, strong, fast linemen such as Trafton Holder, Brandon Bramer, and Jon Derringer. Reid Gilson and Dillon Banks have evolved into two aggressive, productive linebackers that have filled out a LB corps that already had Muse and Jeremy Good, and the defensive backfield features the dangerously fast Kollenberg.

 

Jeffersontown came into the season as the district's #2 pick, and the Chargers' athleticism has many thinking they could even be the favorites. South has developed a swagger in their step that has them thinking they can contend - and maybe get something the school has never had, even in the seasons when they won lots of games: a home playoff game.

 

Key matchups:

 

South Oldham linebackers vs. DeMichael Jackson. Jackson hits holes hard and fast; the SO linebackers must fill the holes in a hurry, and string out any plays that run laterally to keep Jackson in check. If the SO defensive backs are making lots of tackles on run plays, it could be a long night for South.

 

The Jtown defense vs. the South offense. Jtown must be disciplined, or the Dragon offense will score on big plays. The Dragons have proven their ability to hit for the big strike via the run or pass. With a lot of different runners, the Jtown defense will have play responsibility defense and not get suckered into ball fakes and play action, or they'll be watching Gray, Nichter, Williams, Stephens, or Lamb running downfield for an easy score. Jtown must play 100% defense every down - South needs just one play to get downfield in a hurry.

 

South offensive line vs. Jtown linebacker Daniel Ross. The University of Kentucky signee is big and fast, and dangerous on blitzes. If South doesn't pick up #44 well, Sherry could well spend the night running for his life.

 

Last three meetings:

 

2007: Jtown 23, South Oldham 21

2008: Jtown 37, South Oldham 20

2009: Jtown 34, South Oldham 0

 

Winning this game will be huge for one of these two teams. Who wins and why? :confused:

Thats as good of a description of both teams as anyone should need to make a decision on this game, my gut feeling is Jtown but my heart goes with SO.

The game will be broadcast by Pegasus Sports at http://www.pegasussportsky.com Click on the South Oldham Dragon logo, then click on the South Oldham vs. Jeffersontown listing under "Live Broadcasts".

 

Note that the game will also be available immediately afterwards as an "Archived Broadcast" for later listening.

Where are the South faithful??? There used to be some SOHS fans on this bulletin board...and what about Jeffersontown? Not sure I've ever heard from a Jtown fan on BGP?

 

Is anybody out there? :confused:

Where are the South faithful??? There used to be some SOHS fans on this bulletin board...and what about Jeffersontown? Not sure I've ever heard from a Jtown fan on BGP?

 

Is anybody out there? :confused:

 

I heard #44 Ross was hurt, that will definitely help South's chances.

I heard #44 Ross was hurt, that will definitely help South's chances.

 

Ross has a deep thigh bruise, I'm told, and won't start. But he may play... certainly, can't hurt South's chances if he's not back there.

Jeffersontown continues their recent dominance of South Oldham and wins by one.

The game will be decided, I think when Jtown has the ball and South is on defense.

 

If Jtown wins the line of scrimmage, it will be tough for South to catch Jackson; Jtown wins.

 

But if the South defensive front seven controls the line, South wins.

 

The wild card is turnovers; South has occasionally been prone to turnovers (see Henry County and North Oldham games). They can't afford to lose the turnover war this week.

 

Interestingly, Litkenhous has South #20 and Jtown #21 in 5A. It could very well be that close.

 

I'm going with South Oldham 24 Jeffersontown 21. I think South has more offensive weapons than Jeffersontown, and I think they are a more disciplined team.