I can't believe I'm going to miss this game. I've broadcast nearly every game played between South Oldham and Oldham County since SO opened in 1989.

 

And this year's contest should be a doozy. For those who haven't seen the rejuvenated Dragons, they are a legit 5-1 squad. After playing a pretty soft schedule the first four games, they dominated their emotional rival, the North Oldham Mustangs, a team that had whipped them, 31-7, the year before. And last week, they beat an extremely talented Jeffersontown squad in double OT - a team that beat them, 34-0, in 2009.

 

The Jtown win was particularly impressive when you consider the Chargers were picked either first or second in the district in almost every pre-season poll; the Dragons were picked last in the district in several of those same polls.

 

Both North Oldham and Jtown had previously won three straight against the Dragons.

 

South's only loss came against Henry County in week 2, 27-20, when South had a lot of turnovers, including one inside the HC five yard line in the final seconds of the game.

 

Oldham has had South's number for a while, and the Colonels are much better than their 2-3 mark. Oldham has lost all three of its games to some pretty good teams from the larger 6A classification, while winning easily against Waggener and Fairdale, two games they were expected to win. Oldham has a veteran ballclub that is extremely well-coached. Coming off a bye week, the Colonels should have been able to heal a few bumps and bruises.

 

Although I won't be able to call the game - I'll be with my oldest son at a cross-country meet in Cary, North Carolina - the Pegasus Sports Network will still carry the game on the internet both LIVE and as an archive.

 

Go to http://www.pegasussportsky.com and click on one of the school logos. This will take you to our ihigh.com page. From there, under "live broadcasts", click on the "South Oldham at Oldham County" game. Pegasus goes on the air at 7 pm with a half-hour pregame show; kickoff is at 7:30 pm. If you miss the live broadcast, there will be an archive available to listen to afterward.

 

Who wins? Why?

I think I'll come watch this one Friday. Should be quite a game.

Oldham County leads the all-time series, 15-7, and has won the last three.

 

Two of those three games were in Crestwood, and Oldham has outscored South, 119-14 during that stretch. But this year's South team is immeasurably better than any of the last three.

 

Mistakes, particularly turnovers - both teams have been prone to turnovers at times this season - and special teams may make the difference. If so, Oldham's stock rises on the foot of Jake Weigel, whose ability to send kickoffs into the end zone could negate South's talented return men. On the other hand, South's increasingly multi-faceted offense will be a serious challenge to the Oldham County defense.

 

Both teams feature experienced, solid linemen, so the battle in the trenches will be interesting... Defensively, the Dragon down linemen are very aggressive and get good penetration; for Oldham County, the defense is largely predicated on a group of very talented linebackers who pursue and cover well.

 

South brings a number of talented, and diversified, running backs to the table, but the Dragons have to improve on last year's results - the same backs combined for just 48 yards on 28 carries last year. This year, however, South is running with much more success - the Dragons have over 1,500 team rushing yards in just 6 games, led by Michael Gray (580 yards) and Marc Stephens (420 yards on just 45 carries) Oldham has fewer options, but Brett Leary was very effective against the Dragons last year, rushing for 145 yards and 2 TDs on just 10 carries. This year, Leary has struggled a bit against primarily 6A competition, rushing for only 254 yards and 5 TDs in the Colonels' first four games.

 

Should be a great game...

The Dragons have won four straight, the school's longest winning streak since the 2000 team started the season 4-0...

crickets chirping

I've got to pull for south, a win for them makes my team look a little better. This should be a very close, hard fought game, but you never can tell.

Oldham has dominated the series of late, winning 13 of the last 16. But this is truly a rivalry game in that sometimes, the game doesn't quite make sense.

 

Interestingly, I think the two biggest blowouts have occurred in the last five years:

 

2008: Oldham County 56, South Oldham 0

2005: South Oldham 50, Oldham County 0

 

(I say "I think" because I don't have the scores from the 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993 games, although I know those four games were split). I also don't have the 1989 score, but I know it was a very close game and South won it - the first game of the series.

 

I think this will be an incredibly entertaining game.

Will be worth the price of the ticket

Oldham County will win this game, they are just better and I do not think the Dragons are all that when it comes to schematics. Only way I think South Could win is if OC decides to try and pass all night, I think that qb will cost em if that is the case.

Looking for a South win here.