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1968 NHS Season Statistics

Evansville Courier & Press Newspapers ALL CITY/METRO Selections

RESULTS

SCORING

PASSING

RUSHING   

RECEIVING

Highlights included: For the first time since the program began, North deployed a single wing offense in 1968.  With a game plan that called for patient, steady, ball-control offense and a ball-hawking defense, the Huskies looked like a dark-horse in the run for the city title after three games.

The opening offensive drive of the season versus Central was a textbook example of the single wing at it's ball-control best.  Driving 64 yards on 13 plays, the Huskies' HB Keith Leibring opened the season's scoring with a 15 yard TD run.  Leibring would gain 82 yards on 21 carries for the night and add another touchdown.  Diminutive backfield mate HB Len Carr, a senior who stood only 5'7" and weighed 140lb ran 7 times for 40 yards.   On defense, DB Roger Copeland picked off two passes and the Huskies would nab five Bear aerials in all during a 19-6 win.

The following week North upset Vincennes 27-20 when Len Carr hit HB Andy Lindauer with a 66 yard scoring pass with only 43 seconds to play.  The play came after the Husky defense sacked the Alices QB for a 12 yard loss on 3rd and 2 from the North 22 yard line.  The Huskies then batted away a 4th down pass as Vincennes tried to gain a first down that would have allowed them to run out the clock.  In an offense known for it's preference for running rather than passing, Carr managed to complete 8 of 14 passes on the night for 168 yards and two TD's.  Earlier in the game he had thrown a 33 yard scoring toss to E Paul Peay.

The Red Streak of Terre Haute Wiley never knew what hit them in week 3 when DB Roger Copeland and company picked off a total of six interceptions.  The opportunistic Len Carr then converted many of those turnovers into sensational scoring plays.  He ran 19 times for 104 yards on the night including a 33 yard dash in which he ran over two defenders and faked out two more at the goal line.  Twice the Huskies successfully pulled off scoring on "Flea Flicker" plays featuring passes to one play who quickly laterals the ball to another player by design.  One of them went to RB Andy Lindauer who also ran 11 times for 115 yards that night.

Leading Bosse 13-7 with 4 minutes to play in the game, North escaped with a tie when DT Bob Hawkins broke through the line and blocked the Bulldogs extra point attempt with 1:44 to play.  Carr had run for 160 yards on the evening including a 37 yard dash for a touchdown in which he broke two tackles.  Backfield mate Keith Leibring ran for 92 yards and was the recipient of a lateral from E Dan Franklin on another of Carr's "Flea Flicker" passes that went 15 yards for the other Husky score.

8,500 fans rimmed Reitz Bowl as the undefeated Panthers squared off against the undefeated Huskies.  In a defensive struggle in which neither team could gain an advantage, it took a safety call in the Huskies end zone to provide the final margin of victory for Reitz.  With 6:20 remaining, North recovered a Reitz fumble at their own seven yard line.  When Len Carr rolled out to his right to throw he could spot no open receivers.  He reversed his field as the Panther rush closed in and managed to dodge one tackler, but was forced to retreat further into his own end zone to do so.  Before he could escape again, he was tackled and the two point safety ended up being the final margin as the Panthers won 9-7.

Later in the season, one of the sloppiest fields would yield one of the season's most thrilling plays.  Against Harrison, on an Enlow Field turf that had been turned into a swamp by afternoon rain storms, the Huskies and the Warriors emerged from the halftime locker room in a scoreless tie.  With Harrison kicking off to start the second half, the kick landed with a splash in a mud puddle in the churned up field in front of HB Andy Lindauer near the 20 yard line.  With the Warrior front line storming toward him, Lindauer ducked low to scoop the ball out of the mud and ducked below the first wave of defenders.  From there he ran 80 yards with the return and scored the only points of the game in a 7-0 North victory.

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

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