Friday Night Lights turned into Sunday Night Victories. By : Jeremy Brown

Friday Night Lights turned into Sunday Night Football in Goshen after lightning postponed many games in the Louisville area over the weekend. The chaotic Friday weather translated into a wacky contest Sunday evening where North Oldham (4-1) ran away from Seneca (2-3) late with a 39-12 victory.

The win extended North’s winning streak to four games as they head into Class 4A District 3 play looking to defend their District Championship from 2025. Senior running back Ronin Renton rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown, and the Mustang defense forced 5 turnovers and had 11 tackles for loss to propel North to victory.

The journey to the game’s final destination, however, was adventurous on both sides.

A turnover- and penalty-filled first quarter featured 13 points and a dozen penalties, with the Redhawks striking first on an interception return touchdown by Clezashawn Wright on the game’s first snap. Mustang quarterback Brodie Pfeiffer responded with a long drive, highlighted by a 32-yard connection with fellow senior Jackson Davis that set up a 1-yard QB-keeper for the score.

North Oldham never relinquished the lead from there, but a combined 9 turnovers from the two teams kept the game tight until the fourth quarter.

Pfeiffer threw three first-half interceptions, two of them to Seneca defensive back Jade Williams. Redhawks’ quarterback Christopher Curry also turned the ball over three times with two interceptions and a fumble.

North closed its roller-coaster first half with a scoring drive that saw Pfeiffer hit Andrew Davis (‘28) for a 22-yard touchdown on a zip screen. Andrew Davis also had an interception on Seneca’s first offensive play from scrimmage, marking his second-straight game with a pick.

Leading 14-6 at half, Mustang senior Ryan Seely intercepted Curry on the first series of the third quarter and returned it for his first-career touchdown. Seely also recovered a fumble in the game – forcing 2 of the North defense’s 5 turnovers on the night.

Seneca gained 92 of its 163 total yards in the third quarter, and answered Seely’s defensive touchdown with a long scoring drive capped by Royce Moore’s 3-yard trip to the end zone.

North started the fourth quarter with a 22-12 lead on its own 20-yard line and received 30 free yards in penalties after back-to-back unsportsmanlike conduct fouls on the Redhawks. The free yardage helped set up a school-record 50-yard field goal for Chris Waldron, who pushed the Mustang lead out to 25-12 with the long scoring kick.

The Mustang defense forced the Redhawks off the field quickly on the ensuing possession, and Renton sealed the game with a 58-yard touchdown run that moved him into second place all-time in career rushing yards at North (1,695 yards). Seneca fumbled its first snap of the following series right back to the Mustangs, and North senior Destin Lindsey applied the exclamation point with a 6-yard touchdown run to make the score final at 39-12.

The North Oldham defense held Seneca to 2 yards or less on 28 of 46 snaps, including 16 plays that either resulted in a turnover or lost yardage. Sophomore defensive end Ethan Miller had the best night of his young career with 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in leading the pressure effort for the Mustangs. His pressure forced the scoring interception by Seely to begin the second half.

Pfeiffer finished the night 9-of-18 for 117 yards and one passing touchdown while adding 44 yards on the ground with another score. Jackson Davis led North’s deep receiving room with 74 yards on five receptions.

For the Redhawks, Curry finished the night with 125 passing yards, 79 of which went to Jade Williams.

North will have a short week as it prepares for its first District 3 game at Doss (0-5) on Thursday night. Seneca opens its district play against Western Friday night in a contest that will be played at Ballard.