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North 13 Central 41 - Ron Weigleb Stadium Oct 22, 2010

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Game Recap

FIRST HALF SUCCESS NOT ENOUGH IN 41-13 LOSS TO FLOYD CENTRAL

With ten seconds to play in the half, North appeared ready to gain the upper hand in an upset bid against Floyd Central in the sectional.  Unfortunately for the Huskies, those hopes faded with an interception and the season came to end with a 41-13 loss to the Highlanders.

1^st QUARTER

The game started on a high note for North.  The first two passes thrown by QB Luke Blankenship went for 16 yards to WR Brock Hardin and 28 yards to WR Keith Kinnaird.  The power running of Mike Johnson then took the Huskies to the Floyd Central ten yard line before the drive stalled.  K David Patton’s 27 yard field goal attempt went wide left, but North came away with the sense that its offensive line could handle their counterparts.

And then Floyd Central’s star tailback went 69 yards for a touchdown on the Highlander’s third play from scrimmage.  On the night, Kyle Bramble would rush 23 times for 247 yards and three touchdowns.  He would be “the difference maker” for Floyd Central.

But he wouldn’t be the sole-reason for their victory.

In a tune familiar to the Husky faithful, before the game was over, turnovers and special teams would provide just as big a key to the loss as the opponent’s offense.

NORTH RESPONDS

North responded to the long run with another long drive.  This time sophomore RB Blake Howell carried much of the burden.  First, he burst for six yards around right end and following a 16 yard completion to Kinnaird, Howell would take a draw play for another four.  Sweeping around right end for 6 yards, Howell and the Huskies were moving deep into Floyd Central territory.

With a minute-ten left on the clock in the quarter, Blankenship pitched the ball to Howell on his third sweep of the drive around right end and the fleet-footed tailback raced fourteen yards to the flag at the corner of the goal line.  Following Patton’s extra-point kick, North had tied the game at 7-7.

2^nd QUARTER

Floyd Central looked determined to answer and drove the ball to the Husky 34 yard line with relative ease. 

That’s when the defense “stood up” and made a stop.  On first and ten, LB Duvante Lane nailed Bramble at the line of scrimmage for no gain.

On second down it was DE Damien Jackson who greeted Bramble’s rush with a “bear hug” tackle at the line.

On third down it was DT Jarrod Hawkins who literally picked Bramble up in the air and slammed him to the ground for no gain.  North’s defense had held and forced a punt. 

The Husky offense managed a first down before stalling at the 24 and kicked the ball back to Floyd Central near midfield.  Bramble again carried much of the load and the Highlanders reached North’s 16 yard line before four penalties in five plays forced them to kick a field goal from North’s 21.  The kick was good and Floyd Central led 10-7.

North fumbled the ensuing kickoff return at its fifteen yard line.

Three plunges into the line by Bramble resulted in four yards and the Highlanders tacked on another field goal to make the score 13-7.

DRIVE TO NOWHERE

With a minute-forty-three on the clock North’s “hurry up” offense made good on its moniker and drove the ball down field.  Howell keyed the opportunity by returning the kickoff 32 yards to the North 43 yard line.  Two short passes to Hardin and a twelve yard 'out' pass to Kinnaird in front of the home side line had North with first down at the 32 and 38 seconds on the clock.

Coach Wilson substituted back up QB Max Mooney into the lineup for Kinnaird and ran a double-pass play to Hardin.  Running a post pattern, Hardin got jostled by the Highlander defender at the three and the referee called pass interference on the play.

With a first down at the 17, Blankenship dropped back to pass and couldn’t find an open receiver.  Surging out of the pocket, he ran to his left and picked up seven yards to the ten yard line before being tackled.  North used its final time out of the half and called a 'crossing route' pass play to Mike Johnson.  The receiver looked to be open at the goal line but the pass trailed behind him and was picked off by a Floyd Central receiver.

SECOND HALF

Despite trailing on the scoreboard, the collective mood throughout the North stands was that we were in the game and had displayed a mastery of the offensive line of scrimmage.  Hopes were running high as the second half kickoff loomed.

When DE Devin Rios and LB Taylor May dropped Bramble for a six yard loss on second down and Kinnaird broke up a post pattern pass over the middle on third down, the defense forced a “three-and-out” to start the third quarter.  Floyd Central’s punt rolled dead at the North 46 and the Huskies were looking at midfield against a team that had yet to prove they could stop us.

Howell banged away off-tackle for a pair of four yard gains and Johnson went ten yards behind OT Austin Moll’s big block to gain a first down at the Floyd Central 36.  Little did the “Big Green” faithful know that this moment would be the “high water” mark for North’s sectional hopes.

On second and nine, Hardin was open on a hook pattern on the right hand side for a first down but the pass hit him in the ankles.  A third down middle screen pass to Howell gained nothing and North was forced to punt.

A first down pass to Bramble by the Highlanders picked up 39 yards and only Kinnaird’s last second tackle averted a touchdown.  As it turned out, two more runs by Bramble produced the touchdown anyway.  A fake extra-point pass scored a two point conversion and North trailed 21-7 with 6:07 to play in the quarter.

North’s first ‘three-and-out’ ensued when Kinnaird was open for first down yardage on the left side but the pass was under thrown.  The Huskies longest punt of the season, 46 yards, rolled dead at the Floyd Central 35.

Bramble ran the ball on four of Floyd Central’s next six plays and the final carry was 23 yards for a touchdown.  A two point conversion run was thwarted by the Huskies and the score was 27-7.

NORTH COMES BACK

The Huskies were far from “done”, however.

For whatever reason, Floyd Central attempted an on-sides kick while they were up twenty points and sophomore Dylan Simmons smothered the ball to give North good field position.  Johnson ran behind Moll again for a six yard pick up and then a “hot read” from Blankenship to Hardin picked up a quick first down well into Floyd Central territory.

Down three scores, the Huskies were once again dominating the line of scrimmage on offense and moving the ball with great fluidity.  Play calls were ‘on the money’ and the Huskies appeared prime for a come back.

Facing second and ten, Howell took a draw play hand off and got hit deep in the back field.  Spinning to break the grasp of the defender, he pulled himself clear and turned a certain loss into a nine-yard gain.  On off-tackle play behind Moll generated another six yards and a first down at the 35.    A blocking-in-the-back penalty negated a touchdown and brought the ball back to the 37 yard line.

QB Luke Blankenship looked to his favorite target, Caleb Kinnaird, and the tandem hooked up for an eleven yard gain to set up third-and-one at the 26 as the quarter came to an end.

FOURTH QUARTER

Blankenship took a quarterback sneak play to the 22 and North looked to be closing the gap.  A fly pattern pass to Hardin down the left side narrowly missed narrowing the score, but a middle-screen to Howell picked up twelve and North had first and goal at the ten yard line.

Floyd Central picked off the next pass attempt and retuned it 92 yards to the North five yard line. 

Their quarterback ran a five yard keeper on the first play for a touchdown and then handed the ball to the fullback for a two point conversion.  North trailed 35-7.

The Huskies had gone from a momentary glimmer of hope to cut the deficit to 12 points with a quarter to play against a team that they were dominating on offense to trailing by 28 points in a matter of 20 seconds of play.

To add insult to injury, North’s next possession witnessed yet another in a long season of punt snaps gone awry and a blocked punt for a touchdown resulted from the miscue.  North was down 41-7 with 8:33 to play.

For their part, the Huskies matched the Highlanders with liberal substitutions from that point.  Mooney came in to play quarterback and multiple underclassmen came in to play in the line and at wide receiver.  Howell and Johnson, however, continued to carry the ball and acquitted themselves well in the final possession.  Never taking to the air, North ground out four first downs rushing and Howell broke free around right end on third-and-sixteen and hustled 31 yards for a touchdown.  The tally made the final score 41-13 when Mooney’s two point conversion pass went over the head of Brock Underwood.

CONCLUSION

The clock wound down on a disappointing season.  The final game, like many of the games that the Huskies played this season, was much closer than the score would indicate.   North ran SEVENTY plays from scrimmage compared to just 39 for their opponent.  North tallied TWICE as many first downs as the Highlanders.

Turnovers, suspect special teams play, and inconsistent tackling told the story. 

The game plan was good.  The play calling was spot on.  It was the execution that ended up being the difference between a season of success and a season of disappointment.

For their part, as was the case throughout the season, this Husky ball club played hard all the way to the game’s final moments.  Their spirit and camaraderie remained undoubted until the game’s final whistle.  This was a team that played hard and should have accomplished more.

It was a ball club that was done in by “the little things”.  Lapses of concentration led to momentary collapses that opponent teams exploited for touchdowns.

And it usually happened at critical moments.  With Richard Compton out the final two games of the season and having missed most of another game, the Huskies often lacked the “home run” threat that other teams enjoyed.

When asked to play error free football to compensate for that deficiency, the 2010 Huskies weren’t able to answer the call. 

And thus they end with a 2-8 record and the unfortunate label of the least successful team in North’s last 14 seasons.

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