Back

North 50 Bosse 26 - Central Stadium Aug 20, 2010

Game Stats    Game Recap    Game Possession Chart

Offense

Team Stats

Defense

Game Recap

HUSKIES POUND THE BULLDOGS 50-26 FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2010

The Huskies rolled out the welcome mat for the Bosse Bulldogs Friday night at Central Stadium.  The 2010 North varsity were remarkably well behaved despite provocations by their opponents before and during the game.

There have been harsh words exchanged over the last several seasons both on and off the field between the Green and White and the Red and Gray and the fact that North hasn’t lost to Bosse since the early days of the Bill Clinton presidency probably adds an element of frustration to the Bulldogs lament.

But the Huskies failed to take the bait from the Bulldogs and let their play on the field speak for itself.

And oh my… did it speak for itself.

North scored touchdowns on each of their first six possessions of the game and managed to throw in a defensive score between the fifth and six TD.  When the dust cleared, the Huskies had a 50 – 26 victory and had lengthened the consecutive winning streak over Bosse to 14 in a row.

The left side of the Husky offensive line, featuring LT Jarrod Hawkins and LG Damien Jackson, was stellar throughout the game and steadily wore down a thin Bosse line.

For their part, the Huskies rang up nearly 400 yards in total offense and committed error free football, but the outcome, while lopsided, was not nearly so clear cut until well into the games second half when an unlikely game breaker would seal the victory from the defensive side of the ball.

1^ST QUARTER

Taking the opening squib kick by Bosse and returning it to the 35 yard line, the North offense gave a dazzling preview of what the evening would hold in store over the next 5 minutes and 50 seconds.  Handing the ball to RB Richard Compton on the first play from scrimmage, the senior tail back took a trap play between C Sam Jones and RG Damon Byars and sliced for 29 yards through the Bosse defense.

In an eleven play drive that marched 65 yards, Compton carried the ball nine times for 51 yards.  The final carry of the drive came right off the hip of Damien Jackson, who had blown a hole clear through the Bulldog defense and left a gap into the end zone that a truck could have driven through.

With regular kicker David Patton competing with the soccer team and missing the first half of the football game, North lined up in the “Wildcat” offense and Compton took a direct snap and waltzed in for the two point conversion to put the Huskies up 8 – 0.

The Husky faithful felt their hearts flutter when Bosse’s flanker back took a reverse on their second play from scrimmage and jetted 68 yards for a score to make the game 8 – 7 .

Bosse appeared to be concerned about North’s speed and continued to squib kick their kickoff attempts throughout the game.  As a result, North again had excellent field position on its second possession and started from the 45 yard line.

With a more balanced attack, North gained 37 of its next 55 yards through the air with QB Luke Blankenship.  Blankenship found senior wide out Caleb Kinnaird twice on the drive.  The drive nearly stalled when the Huskies, after having driven to the Bosse seven yard line in nine plays, suffered a bad snap on first and goal to go.

The snap occurred in the Wildcat formation and soared over Compton’s head before landing at the 20 yard line for a thirteen yard loss and setting up second and goal.  A block in the back penalty on the ensuing play not only called back a score, it also received a ten yard penalty and moved the Huskies back to 2^nd and goal from the thirty yard line.

Following an incomplete pass at the five, North was faced with third and goal from the thirty.

Not many teams have a play in their arsenal designed for success for third and goal from the thirty.

North does.

It’s a play-action pass worked to perfection that gets Kinnaird open in the seam inside the ten yard line on the right hand side.

And the sure handed receiver did his part and hauled the ball in to end the 1^st quarter of play and set up fourth and goal from the nine.

2^nd QUARTER

A handoff to Compton on the first play of the quarter resulted in a cut and a quick fake that carried the senior straight into the end zone for a touch down.  He was hit at the line and slow to get up and when he did, he was holding his left shoulder at an odd angle.  By all appearances he had dislocated it on the scoring play.  North now led 14 – 7.

For their part, Bosse responded with their best drive of the game.  Starting at their 34, the Bulldogs strung together an eleven play drive, converted a long third down near mid-field, overcame a holding penalty, and got a touchdown to even the score at 14.

While Compton had been hurt on his second scoring play, he showed little signs of it when North got the ball back.  Aided again by a squib kick by Bosse, Compton took the handoff near midfield on the drive’s first play and rambled 25 yards around left tackle before being forced out of bounds at the Bosse 32.  Four plays later, sophomore running back Blake Howell tallied his first touchdown of the evening from the two yard line and when Compton added another two point conversion, the Huskies led once again 22-14.

Bosse’s next possession sealed their fate.  Following a big gain on their first play, they had a first down at mid-field and were looking to even the score again.

Fate played a part in what followed and superior defensive calls reinforced fate’s fortune.

The Bulldogs’ quarterback, the son of one North alum and younger brother of another, appeared to be distracted by his coaching staff as he lined up in the shotgun formation.  With his attention to the sidelines, he failed to see the snap as it sailed back to him and a fourteen yard loss resulted.

Seizing the opportunity to harry a rattled player, North’s defensive staff called consecutive blitz plays that resulted in sacks on second and third down by senior linebackers Tyler May and Kyle Holland respectively.

What had appeared to be a great opportunity to reassert Bosse’s momentum with 1^st and 10 at midfield had become a hopeless 4^th and thirty-four in a matter of a minute.

The Bulldogs never recovered.

North took the Bosse punt and once again came away with excellent field position at the North 49.  Compton took the first two handoffs—the first over the left side for eight yards and the second for 19 more over the right side to set up 1^st and 10 at the Bosse 24.  Blankenship couldn’t find an open receiver and wisely pulled the ball down, avoided the rush, and picked up seven yards to the 17.

Three plays later, Compton drove the ball down inside the Bosse five but went down hard and required assistance to leave the field.  As it turned out, it would be his last play of the game due to two dislocated shoulders.

Sophomore “Big” Mike Johnson scored on a two yard plunge with under a minute to play in the half and Blankenship found FB Ryan Wickham in the end zone for a 2 point conversion to make the score 30-14 at half.

3^rd QUARTER

When one team runs 28 plays in a quarter and the other only gets five, you assume that the team with the fewer plays is getting “pasted”.  Normally, you would be right.  Friday, you’d have been wrong.

Dead wrong.

North may have run just five plays in the third quarter, but they maximized those plays and capitalized on defense in a way that hasn’t been seen for quite a few seasons by the green and white faithful.

To make the plot even better, it was a pair of unheralded players that stepped up when they were called upon.

It began with a defensive stand deep in North territory on Bosse’s first possession of the half.

Bosse had come out from half time with a noticeable swagger.  Their tailback broke free twice and North was back on its heels at the 29 yard line and looking like it might bend all the way to the end zone.

A score at this juncture would have put the Bulldogs squarely ‘back in the game’.

But on a night that was all about offense, it was the defense that changed the momentum of the game.

When Bosse’s harried quarterback eluded a fierce rush on 3^rd and 2 at the 29, he tossed the ball wide to his tailback and for a moment it appeared that the runner would turn and scamper to a certain first down.

And then a green ‘dart’ appeared.  Senior safety Ryan Wickham came up in run support and nailed the runner for a one yard loss to set up 4^th and three.

Down 16 points, the red and grey recognized that this was the pivotal moment of the game for them and they handed the ball to their burly senior fullback to get the tough yardage.  Taking the handoff, he dove into the line and was met by the “big” and “small” of the North defense. 

DT Jacob Embry—at 6’2” and 320 pounds he represents the ‘big’ in the equation—and middle line backer Kyle Holland—at 5’9” he’s somewhat undersized for a linebacker but a sure tackler and fiery leader—combined to stop the fullback for no gain and force a turnover on downs.

With Compton out of the game, there was some concern as to who would carry the offensive load in the second half.

There needn’t have been.

On the game’s next play, the left side of the line again leveled everything before them and Howell took a handoff outside, shook off a defender eight yards into the secondary, and then sprinted 70 yards for a touchdown.

Patton had returned from his soccer match in time for the second half and split the up rights to make the score 37-14.

While that score may have sealed Bosse’s fate, it was what occurred on the Bulldogs next two possessions that broke their backs.

Big plays on mis-directions and screen passes had Bosse out to midfield in short order and they were showing signs that while the score was not in their favor, they were not ready to give up yet.

That is, until senior defensive end Austin Moll took the game into his hands.

Literally.

Facing fourth and short, the Bosse quarterback rolled left on an option play and turned to bolt up field for the first down marker.  As the North defense closed on him, the quarterback shoveled a quick pass ahead of him in an attempt to feed the ball to his receiver.

Moll stepped in the way of the low pass and took off the other direction.  Looking more like a fullback than an offensive tackle (his position on offense), he rambled 44 yards down the far sideline for a score.  Patton’s kick made the score 44-14 and the remainder of the contest was simply about honor and determination.

Of which, North’s Moll still had plenty.

Bosse’s tailback broke free for a 48 yard run to move them back into scoring position on their first play following the kickoff.  On second and ten from the North 33, Bosse’s quarterback botched a handoff to his tailback and it was Moll who was again on the scene to make the play.

Scooping up the loose ball, Austin showed that his 44 yard run had been no fluke by going another 41 yards before being forced out of bounds at the Bosse 26.

When two plays later ‘Big’ Mike Johnson drove 21 yards straight up the gut of the defense, it was evident that Bosse’s character and determination had just about played out for the evening.  With the score 50-14, it was all over but the shouting at that point.

4^th QUARTER

With North playing mostly junior varsity players from that point, Bosse left their starting unit in tact and did manage to generate two late scores but the game was never in doubt. The 4^th quarter wasn’t without at least one North highlight, though.

When junior DE Jeff Burch intercepted Bosse’s hapless quarterback at the 18 and returned it inside the Bulldog 10 with two minutes to play, it marked the first time since 1980 that North had TWO defensive linemen record interceptions in one game (against Terre Haute North and oddly enough, the father of Bosse’s quarterback was one of the two men to do it thirty years ago).

CONCLUSION

In all, despite a defense that at times failed to wrap up runners for certain losses in the backfield and instead gave up big gains as a result, North dominated both lines of scrimmage throughout the evening. 

The defense recorded multiple sacks of the quarterback, forced turnovers, and, with better tackling, could have held Bosse to half as many yards as they got.

On offense, the line cleared away swaths of landscape for three different runners to succeed—at times it looked as though North was competing down hill against the Bosse defense.  The line was so dominant that North did not have to throw a single pass in the second half of the football game.

North was opportunistic, played within itself, showed discipline, and when given the opportunity to get into an emotional battle of words and actions with a provocative opponent chose instead to do the right thing:  They tightened up their chin straps, kept their emotions in check, and went out and kicked some Bulldog butt.

NOTE: HERE AT WWW.NHSRECORDS.COM we often wonder how many people take the time to read these write ups.  If you read the write up and you found it worth your time, drop us a quick email to our WEBMASTER and let us know so we can figure out if there's an audience to justify the time it takes to do the Game Recap.

POSSESSIONS:

BACK TO TOP