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North 12 Bedford-North Lawrence 13 - at Bedford Oct. 17, 2006

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Offense 

Defense

Game Recap

Judging by the score, it would be easy to assume that the outcome of the second round sectional game between the Huskies and the Stars of Bedford-North Lawrence hinged on a single play.  On closer inspection, however, that assumption would be wrong.

For those that were there, the playoff game was a continuous series of missed opportunities and squandered chances.  On a night when the rain was pouring, the wind was howling, and the mud was sapping every last ounce of stamina, North's valiant Huskies continued to put themselves in position to win. 

When necessity dictated that the Big Green 'go for it' on fourth down, the line surged and the players leapt.  When the Stars left a lane open on a punt return, the Huskies found the seam and sprinted up field.  When backed into their own territory and needing to hold on third and short, the defense answered the call.

And still we lost.

In the end, it was the little things that brought the Huskies' season to an end.  A helmet on the wrong side of an opponent's shoulder fifteen yards behind the runner negated a touchdown on a punt return by DB Brandon Stewart.   An extra 1/8 inch of mud beneath a kicker's plant foot pushed an extra point wide.   An extra gust of wind at the wrong moment blew a ball down before it could reach an open receiver.  Indeed, there were chances to win the game long before the critical play with 2:12 to go.

The game got off to fast start.  Despite a blowing wind and a cold, light rain, the Stars took the opening kickoff and drove inside the Huskies' 30 yard line before the defense held.  North took over on it's own 7 yard line when Bedford executed a perfect coffin corner punt.  After moving the ball out to the 35 yard line, however, the Huskies fumbled a handoff.

Again, the defense held (aided by two Bedford penalties) and once again the Huskies took over following a punt deep in their own territory.  After narrowly missing WR Ryan Parkman on a deep route, QB Dion Pendleton ran once for a short gain, and then had a third down pass dropped.  Forced to punt, the Huskies again went to defense.

Bedford wasted no time moving the ball back into North territory on a run play that got outside the Husky end.  Once again, the defense rose to the occasion when Stewart defended a third down pass at the 20 yard line.   When the Huskies took over on downs, this time they were able to move the ball out to their own 40 yard line.  The big play of the drive was a third down pass into the left flat from Pendleton to Stewart that netted 15 yards and a first down.  Ultimately the drive stalled when Pendleton was forced to throw high over a defensive end as he tried to get the ball to FB Damien Odom on a flare pass to the right hand side.

The first quarter ended with North punting yet again to the Stars from their own territory.  On this possession, as on those that had preceded it, Bedford's line managed to surge off the ball and provide a measure of protection for their star quarterback.  With the defensive line unable to penetrate, the linebacker corps of Clinton Brown, George Quarles, and Larry Merriweather found themselves exposed to short passes in poor footing.  With sure handled tackles, the trio managed to limit the damage but the Stars moved steadily up field to the Husky twenty.

On second and short, however, DE Jordan Lewis broke through and sacked the Bedford QB to set up third and long.  A long pass attempt sailed incomplete and Bedford's 49 yard field goal attempt never made it to the end zone.

With 6 minutes to go in the first half, North broke across mid-field for the first time in the game.  When faced with a critical fourth and short to keep the drive alive at the BNL forty, Coach Wilson called for his "Black Eye" formation with an extra fullback inserted into the game.   HB Larry Merriweather took the handoff and followed his two blocking backs into the hole.  FB Odom took care of the safety and FB Clinton Brown ran head on into the linebacker.   When Merriweather reached the hole he leapt high into the air to clear the wreckage.  The defender slipped under Brown's block and put a shoulder into the Husky ball carrier just as he cleared the line of scrimmage.  Merriweather completed a spectacular cartwheel in the air and came down inches past the first down marker.

The drive continued down inside the Bedford thirty but ultimately stalled when a third down pass to Parkman fell incomplete and then the wind blew down a ball to Odom who was wide open on the ten yard line.  The half ended at 0-0.

SECOND HALF 

The second half started full of promise.  The rain had stopped and the wind had died down.  North took the opening kick and with Pendleton running quarterback draws out of the shot gun formation moved the ball to the BNL 31 yard line.  This drive, too, came up short when North went for it on fourth down and the Stars' defensive end shot through the line like a rocket and stopped Merriweather for a six yard loss.

Bottled up deep in their own territory for a change, this time it was the Stars who were forced to punt from the shadow of their own goal posts.  When Brandon Stewart gathered in the kick at his own 41, he headed straight for the North sideline and turned up field.  Side stepping two would be tacklers, he picked up an escort, utilized his wall of defenders, and raced into the end zone for an apparent score.  A penalty flag for an illegal block ten yards behind the play, however, would result in North starting from it's own 40 yard line.

Disaster struck again when North fumbled on the BNL 42 yard line.  What should have been a touchdown and a deep kick off was now Bedford ball, first and ten near mid-field.  With a three year starter at quarterback, the Stars wasted little time capitalizing on their windfall.   After a loss on second down, BNL got a 62 yard touch down pass when their receiver ran past a flat footed North defensive back.  With no momentum and unable to gain traction in the mud, the Husky defender was unable to run down the Star pass catcher.

Good fortune smiled on North when the Stars missed the extra point and left the score at 6-0.

At this point the rain began to fall again and the Husky faithful could sense that our own passing game was probably through for the night.   The Huskies took the ensuing kickoff and began to run the ball exclusively.  With Pendleton running options and draws, the Huskies ate up six minutes on a 12 play 60 yard scoring drive.  With both lines wallowing in a quagmire of mud, Pendleton's elusiveness allowed him to shake would-be tacklers time and again.  On one particular 3rd down and long, he evaded one man at the line, shook off another three yards into the Stars' backfield, leapt over another, and required two more defenders to bring him down after he'd garnered 16 yards.

His ten yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter tied the score at 6-6.  As the ball was snapped for the extra point, it was evident that the poor footing in front of the goal posts played havoc with the kicker and his attempt sailed wide.

BNL rallied on their next possession and put together a text book drive.  With the wind to their backs, they completed a pair of third down passes to keep the drive alive and scored barely three minutes after North had tied the score.  With the benefit of the trailing wind and kicking towards a goal post which had seen little, if any, plays from scrimmage near the goal line, their kicker had multiple advantages and made good with his conversion.  The score stood at 13-6 with 8:03 to play.

Following Stewart's return to the 30 yard line, Pendleton once again was the primary ball carrier.  Operating almost exclusively from the shot gun and with HB Larry Merriweather at his side, the quarterback needed only to make either a short handoff or keep the ball himself.  Not daring to risk a fumble in some of the worst weather conditions of the season, the play calling was amazingly simple.

But it was effective. 

It was on this drive that North's veteran offensive line found its stride.  The drive chewed up short bites of turf until North reached the BNL 35.  At that point, the line broke open a hole for Pendleton down the left hand sideline and the quarterback rambled to the Stars' 18.  Hearts raced, however, when Pendleton stayed down following the tackle.

Nearing exhaustion, it appeared that the junior quarterback was dealing with cramps in his calves following the run and he had to leave the contest briefly.  He gamely returned, but it was obvious that he was on the last of his energy.

Pounding the ball inside with Merriweather, the Huskies managed to score their final touchdown from the two yard line with 2:12  remaining in the game. 

THE TWO POINT CONVERSION ATTEMPT

Several factors entered into the decision to go for two points.  First, there was the general field conditions in front of the goal.  The mud was not going to allow an ordinary extra-point attempt.  Second, that end of the stadium was oddly shaped with a raised knoll behind the retaining fence and open to one side while climbing to a sharp incline on the other--the wind was both blowing into the face of the kicker and swirling unpredictably at times as a result of the terrain.  Third, it didn't appear that Pendleton was going to be able to sustain another drive in overtime--he was visibly nearing the limits of his stamina after having carried the ball 19 times in the mud and thrown it another 17 times.  Fourth, and most importantly, was that the opportunity was there for North to end it with the right call.

When the Huskies lined up in the I formation behind Pendleton, it was FB Damien Odom who swung out into the right hand flat near the end zone flag.  BNL had concentrated on Stewart, Parkman, and Merriweather leaving Odom open at the goal line.  Pendleton rolled right but was forced to go two steps deeper in his drop than he normally would because a Stars linebacker had managed to get penetration into the backfield.  When Pendleton planted his left foot, it didn't plant firmly in the mud and he was unable to get the necessary leverage to rocket the ball to the open receiver.  Instead, the pass resembled more of a push and Odom dove for a ball at his toes.  The pass came up short almost exactly the same amount of distance as what Pendleton had been forced to retreat to account for the charging linebacker.

As the pass fell incomplete, so did the Huskies hopes of a repeat date with Reitz in the Sectional Finals.  The season ends with six wins against four losses.  North posts its first winning season since 2003 and acquitted itself well by going 2-2 against its last four opponents who only had four losses all season between them. 

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