SOUTH OLDHAM WINS FIRST GAME, 12-0
Shively, KY – For three weeks, the South Oldham Dragons’ defense had played well. David Scull, Adam Ballard, Ryan Schumm, Nathan Pridemore, Brian Kennedy, Derek Bowman – pick a player; they were all playing well. Goal line stands were common. And despite the fact that the defense was typically on the field 30+ minutes out of each 48 minute game, the Dragons were holding up well even into the fourth quarter. In three games, the opponents had scored just six points on the defense.
The offense just hadn’t caught up yet.
Perhaps it was time to play Holy Cross. For whatever reason, Louisville Holy Cross had been a magic elixir for the Dragons the past two seasons. In 1999, the Dragons hung a 41-20 defeat on the Cougars, and last season, the Dragons ran all-district quarterback Brad Schumm and his teammates out of Crestwood with a 25-0 spanking.
But this wasn’t the same Cougar team. Holy Cross had opened the season by whipping their first three opponents. As a result, Holy Cross was ranked ninth in Class A. The Cougars were averaging 38 points per game, while allowing just 2.7 points per game. Running back Eric Moore had rushed for over 200 yards in each of the contests, and the Cougars were allowing just 22.3 yards passing. Worse, the opportunistic Cougar defense had forced 17 turnovers in just 12 quarters of action…an ominous sign for a Dragon offense that had already coughed up the ball 15 times in three games.
For this final non-district game, head coach Brian Schutte decided the offense needed a jump-start. As a result, Matt Kusnir got his first start at quarterback and the offense started to show signs of life. The result was the Dragons’ first win of the season, 12-0 over the previously-unbeaten Cougars.
It actually started out with something of a familiar theme. The South defense began the game by dominating the Cougar offense. Holy Cross went three and out on their first three possessions of the game. Moore, the state’s third leading rusher at 229 yards per contest, was being effectively held in check by South’s powerful front seven. The Dragon offense, however, kept misfiring on golden opportunities.
After going three and out on their first possession, the Dragons’ Michael Swartzentruber gave South fans something to cheer about on the next possession when he returned a Cougar punt 40 yards to the Holy Cross seven yard line. But South Oldham fumbled the ball back to the Cougars on their first play from scrimmage.
The third South possession began on the Holy Cross 44. Kusnir connected on a long pass to the Holy Cross ten, but a Dragon holding penalty erased the pass and helped kill the drive. To add insult to injury, after Derek Bowman’s punt rolled dead at the Holy Cross four, the Dragons had to re-kick due to an illegal procedure penalty. The second try resulted in the Cougars getting the ball at their own 20.
South’s fourth possession ended with a Kusnir interception. It looked like the demons of the past three weeks were bound to curse the Dragons yet again and waste another sterling defensive performance.
But on the Dragons’ next possession, they began to string together some first downs behind the running of Chris Moran and Cory Kincaid. Although the drive would ultimately stall, the offense gained some much-needed confidence. The half ended in a 0-0 tie.
At the break, the South defense had limited the Cougars – unofficially – to just one yard of total offense. Moore had been held to three yards rushing on eight carries, and the Cougars’ sophomore quarterback, Nick Nail, was 0-2 passing. Holy Cross had only two first downs – and one came as the result of a South penalty.
The tide turned on the opening drive of the second half. South took the kickoff and started from their own 18 yard line. Kusnir was at his best on this time-consuming drive, and hit Ryan Donahue on two long passes. The first, a thirty-three yarder, got South out of the shadow of their own end zone out to almost mid-field. The second, a thirty-yarder, gave them a first-and-goal situation at the Cougar six yard line. Both passes hit Donahue in stride against man-to-man coverage. The second reception was especially impressive as the receiver struggled to catch the long bomb, ultimately showing great concentration by controlling the ball on his hip just before being tackled.
It seemed the Dragons were going to miss out on an opportunity to score just their second touchdown of the season when they lost four yards on the next three plays. On fourth and goal at the ten, however, coach Schutte and the Dragons rolled the dice. Despite the fact that they were well within kicker Rob Woolley’s range, the Dragon coaching staff opted to go for the TD. Kusnir rolled to his right on fourth down and found a wide open Michael Swartzentruber in the end zone to put South up, 6-0, with 4:38 to go in the third period. The extra point failed after a bad snap.
The Dragons had burned 7:22 off the clock on their 82 yard march.
South had had so much bad luck in the first three games that they were due the good fortune that befell them next. On the ensuing kickoff, the ball came down just shy of the end zone. A little miscommunication occurred between the two deep backs for Holy Cross, and when the ball died on the Holy Cross seven yard line, there ensued a mad scramble for the ball. The Cougars recovered and started first-and-ten at their own seven, but they fumbled the ball to South on their first play from scrimmage.
It was to be the only Cougar turnover of the night, but it gave the Dragons the ball on the five.
It took four plays to earn the five yards against the gritty Holy Cross "D", but on fourth down, Chris Moran vaulted over the defensive line from the half-yard line, and South’s lead was 12 at 12-0. The two point conversion failed, but the Dragons had the lead they needed with just 2:39 to go in the third period.
Almost ten minutes into the second half, the Dragons had scored twice, and the Cougars had run just one offensive play.
With the Cougar running game bottled up, Holy Cross started to air the ball out. Moore would carry the ball just twice in the second half, for –1 yards. The one-dimensional offense allowed the South Oldham defensive linemen to rush the quarterback with abandon, and the next two Cougar drives died under an avalanche of sacks.
The Dragons, meanwhile, threatened once again, driving to the Holy Cross 18 midway through the final period, but turned the ball over on downs. Although no points were scored, the drive kept the ball out of the Cougars’ hands and all but assured the win.
In the end, Holy Cross – whose only two first downs in the second half came through a South penalty and on a fake punt – never solved the Dragon defense and never really threatened to score. Unofficially, the Dragons held the home team to just 54 yards of total offense. Star running back Eric Moore tallied just 19 yards rushing on sixteen carries. Sophomore quarterback Nick Nail connected on just 5 of 12 passes for 56 yards.
South improves to 1-3; Holy Cross falls to 3-1 on the season.
Unofficial Stats:
South Oldham 0 0 12 0 - 12
Holy Cross 0 0 0 0 - 0
Scoring:
3Q 4:38 – Swartzentruber, 10, pass from Kusnir. (kick failed)
3Q 2:39 – Moran, 1, run (pass failed)
RUSHING
Dragons: Moran 19-107, 1 TD, Kincaid 9-35, Wilson 1-(-1), Swartzentruber 1-(-1), Kisner 5-(-16)
Cougars: Moore 16-19, Wachtel 1-6, Nail 6-(-27)
PASSING:
Dragons: Kisner 5-11-1 1 TD 91 yards
Cougars: Nail 5-12-0 56 yards
RECEIVING:
Dragons: Swartzentruber 3-28, 1 TD; Donahue 2-63
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Oldham |
Cross |
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| First Downs |
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| Rushing Yardage |
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| Passing
Passing Yardage |
91 |
56 |
| Total Offensive Yardage |
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| Fumbles Lost |
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| Penalties |
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