Big game for the Oak Park Northmen tonight as they travel to St. Joe to face the Indians. This will be a game that the Northmen are hoping will be a turning point to get them a better seeding position for the fast approaching playoffs. The Northmen still have some favorable matchups still left as we hit the midpoint of the regular season.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM CENTRAL

The Indians have started the season 1-4 with many close games going the other way, similar to the Northmen. Both teams are looking to improve their record to 2-4 after Friday's game. Central is coming off of a tough loss against Savannah, they will definitely have that on their minds coming into this one. History has not been kind to Central in this matchup, as Oak Park has dominated the series going 24-7 against the Indians since 1977.

The Northmen last game against Park Hill South was a very hard-fought and great game overall. The Northmen showed that they can fight and stay in the game for all 4 quarters and never showed any signs of giving up. The defense really showed up and allowed only 13 points. Things are really looking up for these Northmen, while we are 1-4 the Northmen are a much better team than their record shows. The Northmen have lost 2 games by a total of 7 points combined.

THE OFFENSE

The running game was a vital focus for the Northmen last week. Versus Park Hill South, '23 Marlon Gant Jr. had 93 rushing yds on 29 carries, and '22 KeAndre Braxton poured in 45 rushing yds on 12 carries. '22 Ty Clemens connected with 5 different receivers and added 84 yds through the air, '22 Lucas Oitker was the leading receiver for the Northmen with 2 receptions and 28 yds. Keep an eye on '21 Alijah Manning, '21 Jackson White, '21 Benjamin Foster, '21 Michael Larson, and '23 Wyatt Rueter to hold their ground and give '22 Ty Clemens lots of time to get the ball out and score.

This Offense is starting to get in a groove and the Northmen are poised to up their play this coming week. The Indians have a good Red Zone defense and they have not allowed much scoring in the last couple of weeks.

THE DEFENSE

Park Hill South came into last week's game knowing the Northmen have had trouble against the run. Allowing 292 rushing yds just last week for the Northmen, The Panthers knew that the ground game would be a main focus for the game. '21 Nic Hoops has been a huge piece of this Northmen's defense; He had a total of 11 tackles in Friday's game. '21 Kavon Jackson poured in 7 total tackles and 1 forced fumble. The defense allowed only 157 yds rushing and will be looking to repeat that this week

The Indians primary offensive threat is their passing game, meaning the Oak Parks secondary will need to show up and show out to keep this Central team's in check and off the board early. The Northmen will need their playmakers to step up this week to not let Central get any easy yards downfield. This puts a lot of pressure on guys like '22 Jett Sutton, '21 Logan Willmann, '21 Ardrace Hughes, '21 Logan Linard, and '21 Mason McDonald to stay aggressive in coverage and focus on their keys.

This is going to be a fun battle between two good teams in a similar situation. The Northmen seem to be fully in control of their destiny and with the weather shifting and the temperature dropping, we are sure to get a good one this Friday night.

Oak Park High School Northmen at St. Joe Central Indians

Kickoff: 7:00 pm

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