Buckner, KY – The Colonels of Oldham County rebounded from their opening day loss at the hands of St. Xavier with a convincing, if not exactly pretty to behold, whipping of AAA powerhouse Louisville Central.

Oldham County coach Mike Jackson had plenty be concern about regarding the Yellowjackets. Central boasted tremendous athletes who also had great size. The average lineman weighed in at a hefty 260+ pounds! Coach Steve Serotte’s club featured 18 returning starters, including ten on offense. And the ‘Jackets had the additional incentive of wanting to beat the team that handed them a 27-19 defeat on opening day in 2001 – in the Yellowjackets’ brand-new football stadium.

After the first offensive series for Oldham County, everyone had plenty of concerns about the game.

Although the Colonels managed to get a first down on their first series, that came on a Central penalty. Oldham’s best play from the line of scrimmage was an incomplete Derek Miller pass; the other plays all resulted in negative yardage. By the time Kevin Bramblett punted the ball to Central, the Yellowjackets’ attacking defense had set the tone of the game.

But the Oldham defense proved to be equally stingy, and the Colonels started their second possession in excellent field position at their own 40, following a short Central punt. Keyed by runs of 8 and 9 yards by Miles Brewer and an 18-yard completion from Derek Miller to Brandon Gathof, the Colonels moved into scoring position at the Jacket 19. But the Colonels’ first trip into the "red zone" proved futile. On a third and eight play from the 17, Oldham County tried to run a screen play. Kevin Bramblett dropped the pass, but the officials ruled it to be a fumble, and awarded Oldham County the ball back on the 32 yard line. The fifteen yard loss effectively pulled Oldham out of field goal range and killed the drive.

It would be the first of nine trips inside the red zone (inside Central’s 20 yard line) for Oldham County, and they would score on just four of the possessions, while turning the ball over three times and losing it on downs twice. (From the midway point of the second period through the early part of the fourth, Oldham would reach the red zone on eight consecutive possessions.)

On their next possession, the Colonels self-destructed early. An errant Miller pass was picked off at the Oldham 38, and Central went on the attack with a short field. But sophomore quarterback Xavier Braxton misfired on back-to-back passes before being sacked at the Oldham 43 yard line. Still, things seemed to be going the Jackets’ way when their punt was downed at the Colonel one yard line with 10:32 to play in a scoreless first half.

The Colonels went three-and-out, but the ensuing punt was a near-disaster. Bramblett shanked the ball badly off the side of his foot, and the football went out of bounds just 8 yards upfield, at the Oldham County 11. Again, however, the Oldham defense stood tall.

A Braxton one-yard run was followed by a two yard gain. Then, on the third down play, Jeremy Edgar ripped the ball loose from the Yellowjacket ballcarrier, and the Colonels took over at the twelve.

A fifty-five yard pass completion from Derek Miller to Miles Brewer moved the Colonels quickly downfield into scoring position, but fate intervened again. A Miller pass was picked off at the Central 16 and yet another golden opportunity slipped away.

After four ineffectual series with Xavier Braxton at quarterback, Central switched to another sophomore, Damond Thompson. Thompson fared no better than Braxton against the Oldham "D", however, and on third down, Jason Rimmer sacked Thompson back inside the Central five yard line, and after the ensuing punt, Oldham started in great field position at the Central 31 with 5:34 showing in the first half.

This time, Oldham County put the ball in the end zone. After two plays were negated by penalties that backed the Colonels up to the Central 39, Miller hit Gathof for a 33 yard gain to the six. On the very next play, Brewer scooted around the left end for the touchdown. Nick Hoover’s extra point made it, 7-0, Oldham County,

A Central fumble gave Oldham the ball back at the Central 31 yard line again. But after the Colonels moved the ball inside the ten to the nine yard line, the drive stalled. Oldham lined up to attempt a fake field goal, but the Central defense smelled out the deception, and Oldham turned over the ball on downs. The half ended with Oldham on top by just a 7-0 margin, despite four red zone opportunities.

Defensively, Oldham County was presenting a dominating performance. Central had just 34 yards in total offense in the first half.

Two quick scores to start the second half put Central in a hole they couldn’t get out of. With Miller passing well (he connected on his first four passes of the second half for 115 yards and a touchdown) and the Colonels’ running game finally in gear after managing just six first half rushing yards, the Colonels suddenly seemed to do no wrong. That and a little luck helped.

Oldham County kicked off to start the second half, but the ball took a strange bounce at the Central 27, bouncing back toward the onrushing Oldham County players. The Colonels claimed the ball at the Central 32, and took just three plays to put it in the end zone. After a penalty negated the first play, Miller found Gathof for a 29 yard pass play to the three. Miller then took it in himself on a three-yard bootleg around the left end that ended with him standing, untouched, in the end zone. Hoover’s kick made it 14-0.

The Colonels "squib-kicked" on the next kickoff, hoping to catch Central asleep, but the Yellowjackets took over at their own 45. On the very first play from scrimmage, the ‘Jackets gained ten yards on a run up the middle by C.J. Spillman, but the ball was batted in the air out of Spillman’s hands, and the Colonels recovered at their own 45.

Three plays later, Oldham was in the end zone again. This time it was Brewer scoring his second touchdown of the night on an 18-yard pass from Miller. When Hoover’s kick sailed through the uprates, making it 21-0, it appeared that Central was finished with 9:25 remaining in the third period.

The next two Oldham possessions, however, were studies in agony.

Still leading, 21-0, Oldham took over at their own 36. The Colonels marched downfield deep inside Jacket territory, but Miller’s second INT of the night killed the drive at the one yard line of Central. That led to Central’s first score.

The Jackets actually returned the interception 99 yards for a touchdown, but the score was pulled off the scoreboard by a penalty. Still, Central found a way this time. With the ball near midfield, Thompson found Spillman over the middle for a first down. But Spillman had the ball stripped and watched it tumble downfield nearly ten yards before Robert White corralled it for Central and raced, untouched, 45 yards into the end zone. The extra point was wide left, but suddenly Central was back in it at 21-6.

The football continued to take strange bounces.

Central’s kickoff sailed over the head of Jeremy Edgar, who watched it head into the end znoe. Or at least, he expected it to. The ball hit at the Oldham five and stopped at the two. Edgar alertly picked it up and made it out to the Oldham ten before being hauled down. Miller led his squad down field, aided by a 45 yard pass completion to Gathof. But on third and goal at the Jacket one yard line – after driving the Colonels 89 yards – Miller fumbled the ball into the end zone and the Yellowjackets recovered. It was just one of those nights.

Still, the Colonels headed into the fourth period leading, 21-6, and when Brent Gibbs fell on a loose ball at the Central 16 with about eleven minutes to play, the Colonels were in the position to put the game away. Miles Brewer’s third touchdown – on a 16 yard dash straight up the middle – gave Oldham a 28-6 lead with just 10:50 to play. Unfortunately for Oldham, Central wasn’t ready to cave in.

The Colonel defense forced Central to punt after their next series, but the Colonels muffed the punt return and Central recovered at the Colonel 21. With 8:52 remaining, Thompson hit his tight end for a 21 yard scoring strike. The two point conversion pass was intercepted by Gathof, but Central was back in the game at 28-12.

Five minutes later, C.J. Spillman scored from four yards out to pull Central to within 28-18. This time, the Jackets completed the two point conversion, and suddenly, the Colonel’s lead was just 28-20 with 3:06 to play.

Central opted to kick deep and hope for the best from their defense. The Colonels, however, managed to get a first down when Kevin Bramblett raced around the left end for six yards on a third-and-six play. With a fresh set of downs, Oldham ran out the clock and held on for the victory.

The Colonels improve to 1-1 and tangle with district foe and longtime rival Shelby County in Buckner next week. The Rockets lost to Bullitt East, 27-19, evening their record at 1-1, after fumbling the ball away late in the game at the Bullitt East one. Oldham County beat Shelby County twice last year…

Oldham County Individual Stats:

Rushing: Brewer 10-54 2 TDs, Bramblett 10-43, Jeremy Edgar 1-21, Miller 10-5 1 TD

Passing: Miller 11-27-3 1 TD, 289 yards

Receiving: Gathof 7-164 yards, Brewer 3-74 1 TD, Rimmer 1-51

Derek Miller has now thrown for over 550 yards in just two games with three touchdown passes and five interceptions. He threw for just 1,289 yards all last season in a more run-oriented offense. His 289 yards passing against Central – unofficially – eclipses the old single game record of 288 yards set by Phillip Hackler in 1997 against Waggener. Derek had already set the single-game marks for most attempts (34) and tied the mark for most completions (15) against St. X. At this pace, Miller should set a new season record for yardage, easily besting the old mark of 1,874 yards set by Phillip Hackler in 1997.

Two players are on pace to challenge Donta Smith’s receiving records in a season…

Miles Brewer’s 206 yards receiving last week against St. X broke the old Colonel record of 156 yards set by Jason Souza in 1993… Brewer is on a pace to catch 50 passes for almost 1,400 yards, which would set at least one new school record by a wide margin (yardage) and come close to Smith’s record for catches (54).

Brandon Gathof’s 164 yards receiving against Central would have been the Colonel’s new record for most yards receiving in a game, except for Brewer’s effort last week. Still, Gathof is setting a blistering pace early in the season. The school records for catches and receiving yardage in a season were both set by first-team All-State wide receiver Donta Smith last season: 54 catches, 929 yards. Gathof has 14 catches for 230 yards, unofficially. At this rate, Gathof is on a pace to catch 70 passes for 1,150 yards.

Brent Gibbs’ two sacks against Central gives him 11 in the last fourteen games. The school career record is 15, set by Aaron Riordan in 1997-9. He’s also on a pace to challenge Mike Schindler’s single-season record of 10 sacks, set in 1999.