CRESTWOOD, Ky. – Julian Miles and the South Oldham Dragons were victorious on their home field Friday night, conquering the undefeated Woodford County Yellow Jackets 32-27.
“It means a lot,” Dragons head coach Cain Sams said. “Last year we were at the same record going to their place. They are a really good team, extremely well-coached, very disciplined and their athleticism is on a different level than we typically see.”
With the victory, South Oldham remained undefeated in the state of Kentucky, with the Dragons’ lone loss coming by way of Cincinnati, Ohio, based Anderson.
The visiting Jackets entered the contest 5-0 on the season after a struggle against Pulaski County preceded their bye week.
With the contest serving both as a KHSAA game of the week — perhaps the best at the 5A level — and South Oldham’s homecoming, fans packed out Mitchell Irvin Stadium for the affair.
“I knew it was a big one, but if we wanted to do it, it was going to start on January fourth when we all got back together to start this thing up,” Sams said. “It was going to require a lot of hard work and discipline. We practiced that every day.”
Early on it seemed like it would be a routine offensive showing for the Yellow Jackets as visiting fans were treated to a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justus Wertzler to Omari Jointer.
Unfortunately for those fans in attendance, after Evan Hickerson punched the ball into the end zone for the Dragons, Wertzler’s very next pass was tipped and intercepted, with the ball being returned to the one-yard line. South Oldham was able to capitalize thanks to quarterback Ethan Arnold.
The unusual turnover marked just the second giveaway for the Jackets all season, but, as time would have it, it would only be the first of the game as Wertzler threw a second interception on the very next drive.
“We were uncharacteristical, we’re used to turning people over and don’t turn the ball over (much) and we did that,” Woodford County head coach Dennis Johnson said. “They took advantage of it, they have a lot of good players, (they’re) well-coached. Credit to South Oldham, good win for them.”
This time the visitors would shut down the Dragon offense but, after Woodford punted on its next possession, Miles arrived, receiving a screen pass from Arnold and taking it 38-yards to the house for the third SOHS touchdown of the night.
“He’s the ultimate competitor,” Sams said. “He’s an ultimate athlete. He’s the best basketball player in the county and he’s probably the best football player in the county. There’s a competitor in him and what he brings that everyone sees on Friday is special, but what they don’t see is what he is on Monday through Thursday. He is never off, never on a bad day. He’s always showing up ready to work and that’s what he brings.”
With halftime approaching, the Jackets were desperate for a lifeline and got one from Wertzler who, on the scramble, found a wide open Jalen Johnson in the end zone for his second passing touchdown of the night.
Back out for the second half in a four-point game, Miles once again played hero, draining the clock all the way down to 4:45 in the quarter and punching the ball into the end zone. Arnold would complete the two-point play to extend the lead back up to 12.
“He’s a great player,” Johnson said. “Sometimes they put him in spots to kind of hide him where he’s able to get the ball. Credit to them, he’s a phenomenal talent.”
Wertzler remained steadfast, however, keeping the ball himself and rushing into the end zone for a quick and immediate response.
After the strong Woodford defense forced South Oldham to punt, Wertzler did it again, this time delivering a pass into the end zone for Leland Taylor to make it 27-26 after a failed two-point conversion.
With all momentum seeming to favor the Jackets, the night was bound to end in heartbreak for one star and triumph for the other, though which would get each outcome could hardly have been predicted when Taylor came down with the touchdown pass.
Unfortunately for Wertzler and his squad, after the Dragons benefitted from a gut-wrenching roughing the passer call, the Woodford defense was forced into a 4th-and-2 scenario in the red zone.
Not opting to go for the field goal, Sams trusted his squad and, with the weight of the entire game on his shoulders, Miles came through, converting the fourth down and ultimately finding the end zone with less than a minute remaining on the clock.
“I’m not awful scared of fourth down,” Sams said. “They give us four, not just three, I like to use that fourth one. A lot of times on third down I’m prepping for a fourth, you know? I know what the implications are if we don’t get it, but we practice that scenario weekly. But, I think I could have called anything and they would have willed it into existence, that call’s not on me, that call’s on Julian and the guys that executed that play.”
While Wertzler would drive most of the length of the field, a second comeback was just not in the cards as the Jackets’ perfect record was shattered on Cy Tucker Field.
Woodford County will return to action back home on Friday, Oct. 11, against the Martha Layne Collins Titans. South Oldham will travel to Scott County for a date with the Cardinals on the same day.
