North Oldham's flashy new teal turf looks good, but South Oldham lands another win vs. rival
North Oldham High School on Friday night christened its new teal turf football field, affectionately called "The Pool" by the Mustangs' public address announcer.
South Oldham decided to have a little fun with the nickname when Ethan Arnold intercepted a pass and ran it back roughly 24 yards for a touchdown to give the Dragons a 37-14 lead with 6:11 to play in the fourth quarter.
Arnold and several of his teammates on defense belly-flopped to the ground and began fake swimming on the turf. Their celebration drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty tacked on to the ensuing extra-point attempt but inspired the Dragons' student section, which began chanting, "This is our house."
The final score: South Oldham 38, North Oldham 20. The Dragons improved to 3-1 with the victory, their ninth in a row against the Mustangs, and spoiled the teal turf's debut.
"It's not Disney World. It's something new, but then you settle in," South Oldham head coach Jonathan Sams said of his rival's new field. "It's still football. I mean, you play it on dirt, on mud, on grass and sometimes on teal carpet."
It took a while for Sams' team to find its footing. A fumble inside its own 30-yard line with 20 seconds to play in the second quarter allowed North Oldham to take a 14-13 lead into halftime, during which Mustangs supporters shot fireworks over their $1.6 million gift from Oldham County Schools — one of three renovation projects the district has pulled off at its high schools' athletic facilities in the past year.
"The timing's great — new field, new coach" first-year North Oldham athletic director Matt Walker told The Courier Journal on Wednesday. "(We're) kind of going in a new direction."
The Mustangs looked the part during the first half, but the Dragons were the more explosive team after the intermission. Senior Jacob Acevedo returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter to North Oldham's 34-yard line, then finished the job with what proved to be a decisive touchdown run on South Oldham's first play from scrimmage.
Nineteen more unanswered points followed. Senior quarterback Nick Hamilton capped off a 14-play drive by rushing for a 6-yard touchdown at the 3:09 mark of the third quarter, then ran in from 27 yards out with 8:40 remaining in the fourth. Arnold's interception returned for a touchdown was just the icing on the cake.
"I'm not trying to be too cocky or anything, but I think we marked our territory pretty well," said Hamilton, who led the Dragons with four rushing touchdowns — one of which covered 61 yards during the second quarter.
"I love being a villain and coming out and proving that we can do this," he added. "It's kind of a statement game for us."
North Oldham's quarterback, senior Jace Bullock, said he felt as if his team also made a statement despite falling to 2-2 on the season with the loss.
In previous games against South Oldham, he said, the Mustangs "would have had their heads down and called it quits" when the Dragons seized momentum — they lost 41-9 his junior year, 27-0 his sophomore year and 47-21 when he was a freshman in 2020. This year, they preserved, with Bullock bouncing back from the pick-6 to find junior wideout Gray Schmittel for a roughly 40-yard touchdown through the air with 3:58 to play in the fourth quarter.
What's the difference? Bullock credited first-year head coach Brock Roberts.
"He really just helps us keep our heads up and keep moving," said Bullock, who completed 25 of his 45 pass attempts for 266 yards, three scores and an interception.
Added Roberts, "To have our crosstown rivals to be the ones to travel over and open up this field — and the crowd and the atmosphere and the energy — it was a special night, for sure. Just would have been a lot better to end with a win."
What's next
South Oldham returns home to face Oldham County at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15.
North Oldham will be back on the teal turf, this time against Shelby County at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15.
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Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA football: North Oldham falls in debut on new teal turf field
