The KSR Game of the Week is heading to the Kentucky-Indiana border for this Friday’s matchup.
North Oldham High School in Goshen, KY, will serve as the host for the final KSR Game of the Week of the 2025 regular season. The Mustangs’ opponent? No. 18 Atherton, a breakout team this season that hasn’t found too much success against North Oldham over the years. The Mustangs have won all six matchups dating back to 2007, winning by a combined score of 300-27. But the last meeting happened over a decade ago in 2014 — this isn’t the same Atherton program.
Where North Oldham boasts one of the state’s top offenses, Atherton controls one of the state’s top defenses. The On3 Massey Ratings predict a tight one, with the Mustangs sneaking out a 30-28 win. Kickoff on Friday is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on North Oldham’s teal football field. Dive in below to learn more about both teams.
Atherton head coach Anthony White now has the most wins in program history at 49, but he’ll be searching for an even 50 on Friday. The Ravens broke into KSR’s top 25 rankings during the middle of the season and haven’t looked back. No. 7 DuPont Manual is Atherton’s lone loss on the season, a respectable 33-21 defeat. But the Ravens haven’t exactly played top-end competition outside of that one. Atherton has beaten all eight opponents by a combined score of 307-7, including seven shutouts, although those teams hold a combined record of 16-56.
Atherton sophomore QB Lamar Sistrunk Jr. is the man under center right now. Across the Ravens’ past two games, he’s thrown for 395 yards on 15-19 passing with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. Senior running back Duzye Grundy is the top ball carrier, having rushed for 789 yards and eight touchdowns through eight games played. Brothers Jason and Jeremiah Briscoe are among the top receiving targets with 33 total receptions for 670 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. Junior Garyon Hobbs, a top 400 national recruit with an offer from Kentucky, has eight offensive touchdowns, serving as both a running back and a wide receiver. This is an offense that puts up 36.4 points per game, ranking 39th in the state.
But the defensive side of the field is where Atherton thrives. The unit as a whole is allowing just 4.4 points per contest, the lowest mark in the entire state. The Ravens have recorded 36 sacks, recovered nine fumbles, and intercepted six passes on the season. Junior Zai’Vion Meads (56 tackles, 8 sacks) and senior Donee Sutton (46 tackles, 7 sacks) lead the way on defense. Sophomore Grayden Reid, who ranks 114th nationally in the 2028 class, is another playmaker with 34 tackles and a pick on defense to go along with two receiving touchdowns on offense.
Similar to Atherton, North Oldham has not played a loaded schedule this season. But you have to beat the teams in front of you, and that’s exactly what the Mustangs have done. The only defeat came in Week 3, a 34-28 road loss to nearby Oldham County. The wins sure have been exciting to watch, though.
North Oldham is putting up 48.8 points per contest, which ranks fourth in the state. Paving the way is senior quarterback Colin Daniels, who has a state-leading 37 passing touchdowns to just two interceptions with over 2,100 yards. He’s also tacked on three touchdowns with his legs for a total of 40 through nine games played. Senior Lucas Tompkins is Daniels’ go-to target with 49 receptions for 840 yards and 17 touchdowns. Sophomore Andrew Davis (412 yards, 4 TDs) and junior Conner Nesmith (339 yards, 6 TDs) also make big contributions in the passing game, while junior Ronin Renton is the bell cow running back with 893 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. This offense has put up at least 28 points in every game this season.
While the Mustangs’ defense isn’t as high-powered as the offense, that group knows how to make plays. Eight different North Oldham defenders have logged an interception, six of them by Tompkins, for a total of 14. The defense, which allows just 15.2 points per game, has also recovered 15 fumbles to go along with 12 sacks. Senior Price Duke leads all North Oldham players with 72 tackles, while juniors Preston Smith (66 tackles) and Brody Dressel (57 tackles) aren’t too far behind. The Mustangs have beaten opponents by an average of 33.6 points per game.
We should be in for a thriller Friday night under the lights.
