Back

North 18 Memorial 15 - Enlow Field Sept 8, 2007

Game Stats    Game Recap   

Offense

Offensive line blocking scores:

Tomlin                   Allgood                  Todd            Kuhlenhoelter      Douglas                 Borman                

   81%                          89%                    85%                    87%                      85%                        84%

Defense

Game Recap (with a nod this week to Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities )

"It was the best of times, the worst of times," and somehow the Huskies managed to pull it all together and close out win number three on the season and, more historically, Coach Mike Wilson and Assistant Coach Marty Ohlsen's 100th career NHS victory.

"It was the best of times..."

Featuring a big play offense that repeatedly found daylight for huge gains, the Huskies out rushed the Tigers by nearly 200 yards.  In particular, QB Dion Pendleton and RB Larry Merriweather enjoyed their finest statistical games of the season.  The left side of the Husky offensive line featuring OT Cory Allgood and OG Quintez Todd routinely mowed down their outmatched opponents and gave the runners daylight.

WR Ryan Parkman found seams in a porous secondary that forced the Tigers to back off the line of scrimmage.  He made a marvelous catch in the right hand corner of the end zone that would be at home on any highlight reel.  WR Mitch Parker's snag of a ball between two defenders followed by a dive into the end zone opened up what should have been a decisive advantage.

For the better part of three quarters, the defense denied the Tigers successive first downs and jarring tackles could be 'heard' if not seen across the field.  DE Cameron Whittler made a key fumble recovery in the shadow of the Huskies' own goal post.  Parkman picked off a Tiger pass inside North's own end zone to stymie one Tiger drive.

"It was the worst of times..."

Haunted by the lingering memories of post-game disagreements from the prior week and team defections, the Huskies appeared distracted at inopportune moments.  A routine toss went errant in the backfield and the Tigers capitalized with a 50 yard fumble return.  A missed defensive backfield assignment provided the Tigers with a 50 yard pass reception.  A breakaway runner with an open field ahead stepped out of bounds.

Multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties aided drives by the Tigers and turned what could have been a runaway second half into a tight struggle.  A holding penalty incurred ten yards behind the runner stopped one Husky drive and a penalty for blocking behind the back took away a touchdown run.

In the end, the better team won.  But... not without struggling much more than anyone would have thought.

It was apparent from the outset that the Huskies physically had more talent than Memorial.  The speed and power of the Green and White offense and defense was never more apparent than midway through the first quarter.

After having stopped the Tigers on their first possession and forced a punt, North had quickly advanced the ball into Memorial territory.  On the Huskies' fourth play, almost unbelievably the football appeared on the ground five yards from the nearest North player.  A Tiger linebacker picked up the ball and headed toward the end zone from near midfield.

Even with a ten yard head start, the Tiger was brought down on the two yard line before he could score.

On the very next play from scrimmage, the Husky defense surged and forced a fumble that was recovered by Whittler.

Starting from their own one yard line, and with RB Larry Merriweather carrying most of the load, North regained control of the game by punishing the Tigers with four consecutive first downs before the drive stalled deep in Memorial territory.  On one memorable run, Merriweather cut sharply to the right of a good block by OG Josh Douglas, juke stepped the Memorial linebacker, and then cut immediately to the left of a downfield block thrown by OT Randall Tomlin all in the span of a half-second. 

The Huskies then bottled up the Tigers deep in their own territory with a high booming Mitch Parker punt that a North player actually caught inside the Memorial 5 yard.

It was at about this point that the game began to go "off track".

After successive run plays that did little more than move the ball a yard or two, the Memorial QB dropped back to pass on third down.  He spotted a receiver at the thirty-five yard line who was so open in the middle of the field that no defender was within 15 yards of him.  A blown coverage assignment had allowed the Tigers to escape the horrendous field position they were in.

Once again, North was saved by greater team speed and the receiver was run down at the North 40 yard line.  After yielding another first down, the Huskies eventually held Memorial but took over deep in their own territory.

Lightning "appeared" to strike again when Pendleton broke free through the middle, veered left, and rambled down the sideline for what looked to be a 70 yard touchdown run.  The officials ruled, however, that he had stepped out of bounds at the 19 yard line.  With the Memorial stands roaring at their good fortune, North had what it took to quiet the crowd as Pendleton soared a pass to WR Ryan Parkman on second down.  The receiver leapt high and twisted left to right in mid-air and hauled in the pass for a 21 yard touchdown.

On a night when best and worst were so interwoven, the Huskies failed in the extra point attempt.

Dominant defense, potent offense.

North manhandled the Tigers on the ensuing possession and forced a punt.  The Husky offense again roared downfield.  Pendleton had another long run on what appeared to be a play where he options the defender lined up over Allgood.  This particular play was run with precision every time North ran it throughout the evening and the hapless Tiger defender had no answer for it.  Merriweather then pounded around left end on three consecutive plays and North drove the ball down near the Memorial goal posts.

The drive stalled, however, and despite having dominated every aspect of the game to that point, the Huskies had only a six point lead to show for their efforts.

Again the Husky defense held the Tigers in place and forced a punt.  Parkman's electrifying middle return of the punt brought the ball back into Memorial territory.  Following a Pendleton option run and two more doses of Merriweather around left end, Parkman took a screen pass and zig-zagged down to the Tiger 24 yard line. 

North then took a shot at the end zone and it very nearly proved disastrous.  The pass, intended for Parkman, seemed to hang in the air and the lanky Tiger defender deflected the ball away with one hand rather than trying to catch it with both hands.  His decision gave North another chance and this time the Huskies made it count.

With a pocket of pass protection from the offensive line that would make an NFL team proud, Pendleton had time to stand on the thirty yard line, scan the field, plant his feet, and deliver a perfect strike to WR Mitch Parker at the five yard line.  Parker, with four Tiger defenders between him and the goal line, bulled his way through the blue-line of jerseys and crashed into the end zone to give North a 12 point lead.  This play was the night's finest example of North's combination of power and finesse and could have been the start of a rout.

As things turned out, that wasn't to be the case.

Porous defense, impotent offense.

Up 12, North went for a two-point conversion and came up empty.  To follow up that disappointment, the ensuing kickoff traveled barely 30 yards and gave the Tigers good field position at their 35 yard line.  Four plays later and just moments before the half ended, a Tiger running back turned the corner, broke a tackle, and rambled nearly 60 yards for a touch down that changed the emotional composition of the game.

The Tigers split the uprights with their extra point kick and were now less than a touchdown behind North despite having been unable to generate successive first downs on any drive.

With halftime came the news that Mitch Parker would miss the rest of the game with an injury.  This news took a toll in several areas.  The North receiver corps had been thinned out by the defection of two players in the week before the game and Pendleton would lose his tallest target.  Losing Parker as a defensive back meant that group would be stretched even thinner.  Perhaps most significantly it meant that if North struggled on offense, the Huskies would not be able to rely on Parker's powerful leg to boom the ball 40 or more yards downfield.

All of those factor's played a role in a rather dismal second half.  None of those factors would matter as much as some of North's own mental-lapses and unforced errors.

On one key third down, Merriweather broke around left end and rambled for 15 yards and a chain-moving first down.  The play was called back due to a holding penalty that occurred nearly ten yards behind the runner.

On another drive, Pendleton worked the option to perfection and broke through the defense for an apparent 50 yard touchdown run.  The officials ruled that a downfield blocker running 15 yards behind Pendleton had blocked a defender in the back and the touchdown was brought back.

Tempers began to flare and it infected players coming in off the bench for special teams.  On punts and punt returns alike, Husky players were whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. 

Even the defense, which had played with such determination throughout the first half and into the third quarter, was affected.  With North having gone up by 11 on a Merriweather touchdown run (a touchdown which tied him with Husky legend Deke Cooper for fifth on the All-Time Points Scored list), Memorial went to the air and began to move the ball.

As the Tigers made advances down the field with a succession of short passes, it appeared that North's defense might once again rise to the occasion and hold Memorial out of the end zone.  On a critical play right in front of the North coaching staff, the Tiger quarterback rolled right and ran for the first down marker.  It was up-in-the-air as to whether or not the runner had made the necessary yardage.

When a North player threw his helmet, the yellow flag made the issue a moot point.

North comes away with a very important victory.

With six minutes to go in the game, the Tigers got their touchdown and when they made a two-point conversion, it cut the North lead to 3 points.  Given North's recent mental errors and lack of offensive gusto in the second half, it appeared that the victory could be in doubt.  North's line prevailed and the Huskies drove the ball downfield in a clock-eating fashion.

Facing third down and five just cross midfield with 3:38 to play, it was Pendleton who answered the call and put the game away.  With no other way to describe it than he "willed his way to a first down", the senior quarterback bulled his way up the middle through three defenders.  North denied Memorial the ball and sealed the game's outcome.

As the seconds wound down, it became apparent that Coach Wilson would get his 100th victory at North and join an elite list of Evansville coaches in that exclusive fraternity.  He joins former North head Coach Morris Riley in the group and Coach Wilson will be presented with a plaque to honor the event prior to the start of North's next home game.

The Huskies record now stands at 3 and 1.  They are undefeated in City competition.  With the distractions of the previous week behind them and a full week to prepare players to fill the holes left by two players walking off the team, the biggest part of the season looms ahead of them.

Let us hope that those will be the best of times.

BACK TO TOP