The Oak Park Northmen travel to Northtown this week. What should fans know going into this contest?

Last week Oak Park celebrated senior night and were able to defend their home turf with a 21-0 win over the Belton Pirates. The Northmen offense showed us what they were capable of producing by putting up 379 total yards of offense. The defense also put on a show by claiming their third shutout of the year and allowing only 93 total yards. The Northmen are sitting at 4-3 on the season and have a chance to record the most wins in the regular season in over a decade.  More impressively, they will be attempting to do what only three Oak Park Football teams have ever done before.

This Friday the Northmen will have an opportunity to compete for the a Conference Championship.  What would be only the 4th time this has happened in school history, which is something all the players and coaches are definitely excited about. Especially a Senior class who witnessed a Northmen Football program go 0-10 their freshman year.

The Northmen running game is good
 
This year's team is full of depth and talent, but the running game is one of the top in the city with rushers Najib Alhakeem, and Phil Corbin, while the Oak Park fan base got their first look at '22 RB KeAndre Braxton vs Belton who racked up 160 yards on 16 carries. That three headed monster will be tough to prepare for, but sheds some light on an offensive line that has dominated opponents in the trenches all season long.  If the Northmen can limit penalties and control the football, it could be a very challenging night for the Hornet defense. The weather will also be a factor for both teams, as it's forecasted to be a windy night.

Oak Park defense will face their biggest challenge this season

The Northmen defense is either shutout or show-up this year, pitching three goose-eggs to some very notable KC area teams.  You have to go back all the way to 1997 to find an Oak Park team who can brag about 3 shut-outs in a single season.  However, this Northmen team lacks consistency week-to-week. Stop #1 and #5 on Friday Night and they might be able to solidify their place in Oak Park history. The secondary of Logan Willmmann, Logan Linard, Najib Alhakeem, Jet Sutton, and Ardrace Hughes continue to get better and will be tested throughout the night tackling the big plays and not allowing the home run ball.  The bodies upfront can help by playing assignment football and closing down the gaps these Hornets have made their living on this season. The Northmen will lean on Senior Phil Corbin to be the impact player on defense this week and believe he could have career game tonight if the Hornets start to lean on their run game.

Northmen fans will be out in full force
 
This is one of the biggest games the Northmen have played in the modern era, the current student population, Future Oakies, and families have not seen a 5 win season, let alone, conference implications...ever.  This is a golden opportunity for the Northmen to show that they are one of the best football teams in the conference and that Oak Park Football is on it's way back to the Northland and all of Oak Park Alumni who can find their way out for Friday's match-up should make the trip, it's a good opportunity to catch the progress of this football team and also help pack the stands for this NKC School District match up.  The Northmen are 41-10 all-time vs the Hornets, which seems like something we need to defend!  Theme for tonight is WHITE OUT, pack the car and bring two friends and be ready for a great night of football at the District Football Complex at North Kansas City High School #ForTheFamily #BlueOnBlue. Kickoff at 7:00pm.