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North 3 Mater Dei 28 - Reitz Bowl Sep 11, 2010

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HUSKIES SUFFER BAD DAY AT THE BOWL, LOSE TO MATER DEI 28-3

Sadly, North’s 28-3 loss to Mater Dei at Reitz Bowl was pretty much what has come to be a typical “Saturday showing” for the Huskies.  Over the last three seasons, North is 1 – 4 in Saturday games with the lone win coming last year against a weak Harrison Warrior ball club.

In the four losses, North has been outscored 124-30 and has made a practice of starting games off with turnovers and a lack of fire.  This Saturday was no different and as a result, the Wildcats administered a beat-down to the Huskies.

But that isn’t to say there weren’t some bright spots in the otherwise bad outcome for North.  There were moments in the second and third quarters where it appeared that the slumbering green giant might awaken and do some real damage.  As events turned out, those hopes were fleeting.

1^st QUARTER

The skies mirrored the Huskies performance in the game’s opening minutes.   Underneath overcast gray clouds, the team walked onto the field and assembled along the sidelines in a casual atmosphere.  There were a couple pockets of players who appeared to be working up their intensity for the opening kick off.

Contrasted by the way in which the Mater Dei team ran in unison to their sideline and rallied one another for support, it appeared that if there was an emotional edge to be found, it most likely lay with the home team.

The opening possession confirmed that suspicion.

Just as K David Patton had hemmed in the Warriors with his booming kickoffs last Friday, so to on this fateful day did Mater Dei’s kicker pose problems for the Huskies.  Three times he kicked off in the miserable first quarter and all three times his kickoffs carried to the goal line.

With North starting from its twenty, there was a miscommunication on the opening play that resulted in an incomplete pass and a missed opportunity to gain some sizeable yardage.  On the second play, a trap play into the center of the line, it appeared that someone was slow off the ball and a hole never materialized.  On third down, QB Luke Blankenship fell victim to a pass rush that simply overwhelmed the offensive line as a whole.

Disaster struck on fourth down.

With RB Richard Compton back to punt on 4^th and long from the Husky 17, it appeared that Mater Dei’s rush came through the line en masse.  Had Compton had a camera instead of a football, he could have snapped the Wildcats’ team picture.

The punt was blocked and careened into the end zone.   In a colossal act of bad judgment, rather than fall on the ball and simply accept a two point safety, a Husky attempted to bat the ball out of the end zone.  Instead, the ball rolled to the nearest Wildcat and less than 90 seconds into the game, Mater Dei led 7-0.

The offense remained sluggish and on each of North’s next three possessions, the Huskies were forced to “three-and-out”.

The home team, however, took advantage of the good field position that resulted from North’s lack of first downs and put another score on the board.

In what has become an annual ritual, Mater Dei worked a “Wheel Route” pass play to perfection on their second possession.  The play is designed to lull the defense into forgetting about an eligible receiver who drags slowly along the line of scrimmage before “wheeling” up field as he nears the sideline.  The quarterback then hits an open receiver who is heading straight forward with all his momentum.

North’s defense was not immune to the general malaise with which the Huskies started the game and as a result, they found themselves easily lulled into forgetting about the “wheel” receiver the first time Mater Dei ran the play.

Catching the ball at the Wildcat 34, the receiver ran all the way to the North 12 before a defender could force him out of bounds.  Two plays later, Mater Dei led 14-0 and the game was just over eight minutes old.

2^nd QUARTER

The sun dominated the second quarter skies and it appeared that the change in the skies might bring about a more concentrated effort on the part of the Huskies.   For the fourth time in four games, DE Austin Moll came away with the ball on defense.  Recovering a fumble at the Mater Dei 36, he gave the offense its first scoring opportunity of the game.

Following a Compton five yard pick up, Blankenship hit WR Caleb Kinnaird on the left side for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the Wildcat 12. 

About that time, the clouds re-emerged and, just like the skies, the Husky line seemed to fade with the sunlight.  RB Blake Howell got stopped for a three yard loss on a draw play, Compton was held to no-gain out of the “Wildcat” formation, and Blankenship was nearly sacked on a screen play that the line allowed to develop too quickly.

What had looked like an easy touchdown became a tough field goal opportunity.  Thankfully for the ‘Big Green’, K David Patton was having another good day.  Trotting on to the field, Patton lined up his kick, waited for the snap, and banged a shot through the uprights that would have been good from ten yards further out.

The Huskies were on the board trailing 14-3 and Patton’s kick off bottled Mater Dei up on their 15 yard line.

It looked as though the momentum in the game might turn when the Husky defense tightened near midfield.  DE Devin Rios, playing another strong game, got a piece of the Mater Dei quarterback on 2^nd and 2 at the 47 and LB Kyle Holland brought him down for good to set up 3^rd and four.  Rios and DT Damien Jackson then combined to sack the quarterback on third down and it forced a Mater Dei punt with five minutes remaining in the half.

Forsaking the run altogether, North’s air attack moved the ball down the field.  Blankenship hit Compton in the right hand flat for 16 yards and moved the line of scrimmage near midfield. 

A few plays later, in one of those weird instances where confusion leads to unpredictability, two Husky receivers ran routes side by side down the field on a fly pattern.  It was apparent that had not been the plan in the huddle as both receivers jumped up for the ball.

 Fortunately for the Huskies, only one defender was in the area and when the ball landed, it was in the hands of RB Mike Johnson as he fell to the ground on his back at the Mater Dei 22 yard line.

At this point in the game, the crowd was alive, the sidelines were engaged, and it appeared that the sluggish Huskies had finally hit game speed.  A touchdown would make the game 14-10 with an entire half to play.

An overthrown receiver, a dropped screen pass, and an interception on third down ended those hopes.

3^rd QUARTER

The Husky offense would produce little more during the remainder of the game and as a result, despite a solid start to the second half, the defense would wear down over time. 

But not before making two stalwart stands…

Mater Dei pushed the ball deep into North territory on the first possession of the second half.  Facing 2^nd and 7 at the North 31, DE Damon Byars blew by his man on a reverse play and dropped the runner for a three yard loss.  The defense was ready for the “Wheel” route on third down and held it to a short gain setting up 4^th and 7 at the North 31.  CB DeWayne Williams broke up a pass to force the ball back to the Huskies on downs.

The offense rewarded the defense for their efforts with another three-and-out followed by another blocked punt.

Mater Dei had the ball at the Husky 19 and all the momentum of a locomotive heading downhill.

On first down, the defensive line made like Superman and stopped the speeding locomotive.  Multiple players hit the Mater Dei quarterback for a ten yard loss and nearly forced a fumble.  Good coverage by the secondary forced the Wildcat QB to check down and settle for short passes on second and third down.  Following a motion penalty, Mater Dei faced 4^th and 9 at the Husky 18.

The Wildcats completed a pass in the flat and it looked like they would pick up the first down easily.  That’s when Kyle Holland streaked in and stopped the receiver just short of the marker and killed the drive on downs.

The Husky offense failed to seize the opportunity.  While North did manage a first down when WR Brock Hardin went 13 yards on a Notre Dame screen play, the ensuing drive stalled when Blankenship was sacked on 3^rd down at the 34.

4^th QUARTER

Mater Dei burned a Husky cornerback for a 32 yard gain on the next possession and then hammered the line for a gain of 16 yards to set up 1^st and goal at the 4.  It appeared the Huskies might hold when they limited the Wildcats to minimal gains on the first two plunges into the line.  On third down, however, Mater Dei settled the issue with a touchdown on a dive play and for all intents and purposes the game was over.

The Wildcats took the air out of the ball and simply ran repeatedly at a tiring North defensive line.  Following another score that made it 28-3, both teams finished out the game with their Junior Varsity squads on the field.

CONCLUSIONS

The Huskies now stand 2 and 2 and have played very well on Friday nights.  They have played just the opposite in the first half of Saturday games.

With Castle coming to visit Friday night, the Huskies have to muster their best effort for the Knights.  Featuring a running back who has already carried the ball 48 times in a single game and a line big enough to match North’s pound for pound, anything than North’s best could result in another tough evening.

The defense had a few moments in the Bowl that it could be proud of.  The offense has to fight to regain its timing and sense of coordination if North is to “right the ship” and return to its winning ways.

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