On a night when almost everything went right – well, almost – the South Oldham Dragons ran their record to 3-0 with their third straight shutout of the season, 25-0, over Holy Cross.

The Dragons came into the game after appearing in this weekis AP poll in the "Also Receiving Votes" category, while Holy Cross was ranked 11^th in single-A football.

The win mimicked the Dragons’ start in 1998, their last season in 3A football, when Bob Bronger’s squad shut out Jeffersontown, Bullitt Central, and Shawnee to start the season, on their way to an eventual 8-3 campaign.

This year’s defense resembled the 1998 defense in some ways. Always attacking, the Crestwood crew was in the face of Holy Cross quarterback Brad Shum all night, sacking him, interrupting the timing between him and his receivers, batting down passes, and intercepting one. When Shum was able to get off the pass cleanly, he was usually hurried, and many passes sailed high or wide of their mark. Defensive ends David Shafer and Adam Ballard, along with linebackers Ivan Caldwell, Barry Hinkle, and Hank Wolf, were particularly devastating.

Unofficially, the Y105.7 FM stats showed Holy Cross with only 5 first downs for the ball game, and seventy-five yards in total offense (35 rushing and 40 passing). Of their eleven possessions, seven ended in punts, two in turnovers, and two on downs. Shum attempted 18 passes, completing only seven, and throwing one interception.

The Dragons, on the other hand, were very efficient on offense, particularly in the first half, when they scored on three of five possessions. After Holy Cross went three-and-out to start the game, South took the ensuing punt and drove 62 yards for the first touchdown of the night on an eleven yard strike from James French to Michal Swartzentruber. Troy Schultz’ kick made it 7-0, with 7:30 left in the first.

After forcing another Cougar punt, the Dragons took over on their own 36 and marched downfield, scoring with only two seconds left in the first period on another eleven yard touchdown pass, this one from French to Troy Schultz. Schultz’ kick was wide, however, and the Dragons led, 13-0.

After the kickoff, the Cougars put together their best drive of the night, driving inside the South Oldham 30. But on a fourth-down play, Adam Ballard broke free from his defensive end spot and sacked Shum for a loss of nearly 18 yards to end the threat.

The Dragons kept Holy Cross pinned deep most of the night, and since the Cougar offense wasn’t able to accomplish much, South Oldham found itself working in short field position offensively time and time again.. This was certainly a factor in the Dragons’ third score, which came midway through the second quarter.

After a Cougar punt that left South with the ball at the Holy Cross 49 yard line, the Dragons drove quickly for their third touchdown of the first half. Kerry Hinkle caught a 17-yard pass from James French in stride at the goal line to give South a 19-0 lead with 6:32 left in the half; the two point conversion attempt was a no good.

Up by 19 points, the Dragons became more conservative in the second half. After running on fifteen plays and passing on thirteen plays in the first half, the Dragons threw the ball only twice in the second half (both incompletions). The result was a less efficient offense. The Dragons entered the "red zone" (inside the opponents’ twenty yardline) four times in the second half, but only scored six points. Twice South turned the ball over on downs. Another time they turned the ball over when James French, scrambling for a first down to the Holy Cross three, fumbled the ball away.

The defense, however, continued to stand tall, and the offense did score once again. Following a Holy Cross punt, the Dragons started from the Holy Cross forty-nine yard line. Barry Hinkle became the fourth Dragon to reach the endzone with 5:33 left in the contest, bouncing off would-be tacklers on his way to a 13 yard touchdown run. Schultz’ kick was no good, but the damage was done, and South had the victory.

South Oldham improved to 3-0 on the season; Holy Cross fell to 2-1. The Dragons will be off next Friday, before starting their District season at home versus Bullitt Central on September 15^th.

UNOFFICIAL WYKY 105.7 FM STATS:

First Downs: South 18 Holy Cross 4

Rushing: South 257 yards Holy Cross 35

Passing: South 77 yards Holy Cross 40

Passing: French 8-15-1 3 TDs

Individual stats:

Rushing:

Chris Moran 15 carries 115 yards

James French 8 carries 46 yards

Hank Wolf 8 carries 28 yards

Chauncey Wilson 4 carries 24 yards

Steve Fitzner 6 carries 21 yards

Barry Hinkle 3 carries 19 yards 1 touchdown

Michal Swartzentruber 1 carry 5 yards

Receiving:

Michal Swartzentruber 2 catches 25 yards 1 touchdown

Troy Schultz 2 catches 15 yards

Kerry Hinkle 1 catch 17 yards 1 touchdown

Barry Hinkle 1 catch 9 yards

Ryan Shumm 1 catch 8 yards 1 touchdown

Aaron Lysne 1 catch 4 yards

Next up for the Dragons: September 8: OPEN DATE September 15: Bullitt Central (district game)

Next Y105.7 FM broadcast: September 15, 2000 Oldham County vs. Nelson County. 7 pm pregame.

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