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1961 NHS Season Statistics

Evansville Courier & Press Newspapers ALL CITY/METRO Selections

RESULTS

SCORING

PASSING

Individual stats for rushing and receiving are unavailable at this time.

Highlights included: The '61 Huskies gained notoriety as being the biggest club that North had fielded to date.  For the past few seasons, Coach Riley's Wing T offense had been known for their scrappy ability to play 'up in class'.  155 pound linemen blocked for 150 pound backs.  Not so in 1961.  The offensive line for this campaign featured 6'2" 234 lb T Dave Baugh, 191 lb C Ralph Paulson, and 6'1" E Byron Elmendorf among others.  Mickey Martin took the helm at quarterback to start the season and he was typical of the backs on this ball club--he doubled as a middle linebacker on defense.

The moxie of the '61 club was apparent in the first game of the season when they trailed Vincennes 6-0 late in the fourth quarter.  When the defense held the Alices and forced them to punt, Martin took over the offense at his own 40 with under 5 minutes to play.  Three minutes later, the Huskies moved the ball inside the Vincennes ten yard line, but a penalty left them facing fourth and goal from the 13.  Martin took the snap, rolled to his left, and spotted E Keith Kuhn in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.  The 5'8" 180lb quarterback then took kicked the extra point to give North the win 7-6.

Week 2 got off to a roaring start when track star HB Wayne McDaniels took off around end for a 38 yard touchdown run on the first possession of the game against Lincoln.  The scoring blitz never stopped until North had put 9 touchdowns and won the game 62-0.  Eight different players scored in the contest with End Byron Elmendorf catching two touch down passes.  QB Martin led all scorers, though, as he threw for 117 yard and a touchdown, ran one in, and kicked 8 extra points on the night.

When McDaniels got hurt in practice the following week, it appeared that the offense would lose its big play threat for the week 3 contest with Bloomington.  For a half, the fears were justified as the two teams were knotted up 0 - 0 at half time.  In the second half, however, the defense would crank out some big hits that forced turnovers and led to scores.  DE Steve Kupas' fumble recovery set up a short field that RB Steve Myers converted for the first score of the game.  Then DL Don Boardman would force not one but two fumbles that led to Husky scores.  With HB Tom Sisk and FB Terry Yunker respectively scoring TD's after the turnovers, the final ended up 21-0 in favor of North.

Riding a three game win streak and back-to-back shutouts, North cruised into a big city match-up with fellow unbeaten Bosse.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature failed to cooperate and a torrential downpour forced the officials to halt play in the first quarter.  When play resumed, the field was a quagmire and the game reflected it.  When QB Mickey Martin fell awkwardly in the second quarter and injured a rib, the offense lost its effectiveness.  Though he would play sparingly the rest of the game, the field prevented the Huskies from utilizing their speed.

The defense did its best to make up for the conditions and only allowed Bosse a single foray into North territory all night--and that drive was stalled at the 42 yard line.  LB Terry Yunker did his best to put short fields in front of the offense with 2 pass interceptions, but in spite of his efforts, the game wound into the fourth quarter a scoreless tie.  When a North drive stalled at the 33 yard line with seven minutes to play, Mickey Martin re-entered the game as the punter.  Taking the long snap, Martin booted a perfect coffin corner punt that rolled out of bounds at the Bosse three yard line.

When the Bulldogs took their first snap, the North defensive line and linebacker crew blitzed heavily and the surge knocked Bosse's quarterback into the end zone.  A team safety resulted for the Huskies and North held on to win the muddy struggle 2 - 0.  After four games, the defense had yielded only one touchdown and recorded three consecutive shutouts.

Unfortunately, QB Martin's rib injury forced him to play a diminished roll versus Memorial and he was missed on both sides of the ball.  Trailing the Tigers 14-0 in the 3rd quarter, the offense appeared to finally be putting something together and drove all the way to the Memorial 6 yard line.  An unfortunate fumble ended the drive and the Huskies hopes for the night.

Martin's torn cartilage in his hips and ribs forced QB Scott Riley to take over the offense full time for game six versus Mater Dei.  The Huskies relied on the running game and put up 222 yards on the ground versus the Wildcats and won 8 - 0.  The defense posted its fourth shutout of the season and DE Byron Elmendorf blasted a Mater Dei punt returner and recovered the fumble on the Wildcat 9 to set up the game's only touchdown.  Riley dove over from the one yard line.  RB Steve Myers helped to wear down Mater Dei as he ran for 92 yards on the night in a ball control offense.  Elmendorf provided the game's only other score when he tackled a Wildcat running back in the end zone for a safety.

Dreams of a conference or city title went out the window in the second half of the next week's game versus Reitz.  For the second season in a row, North trailed the Panthers 7 - 0 at half and had an upset within their grasp.  Likewise for the second season in a row, Reitz wore down North after the break and won going away.

With Martin out for the rest of the season, the offense failed to produce many points the rest of the way and future NFL Hall of Famer Bob Griese put on a text book show of all-around football when North took on Rex Mundi.  The Huskies didn't fare any better in the finale against Central and what started as a season full of promise ended at 5 - 4.

RUSHING

RECEIVING

DEFENSE--2 pts each for solo, cause or recover fumble, sack, int, blk kick; 1 pt each for assist and tackle for loss

No Defensive Statistics are available at this time.

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