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North 35 Memorial 34 - at Enlow Field Sep 23, 2011

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HUSKIES BATTLE ELEMENTS IN DRAMATIC 35-34 VICTORY

A storm cloud burst upon Enlow Field Friday night and when it was done pouring, North had its first victory over the Memorial Tigers since 2007 by a score of 35-34.  It was the sort of night where there were players whose fortunes went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in the span of a few minutes.  On a night when the decisive point was scored by a freshman kicker in the midst of a driving rain storm, there were no fewer than a dozen players who may have alternately worn the title of “hero” or “goat”.

GOOD FORTUNE

North’s first date with destiny occurred on a punt play barely two and a half minutes into the game.  After their initial drive stalled and they were forced to kick the ball away, the Huskies’ Antawn Ogburn booted the ball inside the Tigers’ 20 yard line.  It then took an odd bounce, grazed a Memorial player’s shoulder pads, and LB Duvante Lane recovered at the 29 yard line.

Three plays later, the interior of North’s offensive line, manned by C Dylan Simmons, G Damon Byars, and G Sam Jones, trap blocked a hole for Lane into the Memorial secondary.  With a full head of steam, the big fullback bowled over a would-be tackler at the six and barrel-rolled into the end zone.  After Zac Turi’s extra point, North led 7-0.

OPPORTUNISTIC DEFENSE

The Huskies have generated more take-aways than their opposition throughout most of the season.  The first quarter of the game furthered that statistic in North’s favor.  Playing without its defensive captain, LB Colton Lord, and its “big play” artist on defense, safety Ty Pauley—both players had been ejected from the Castle game and were suspended by IHSAA rules from participating in one additional game—few would have thought North could contain Memorial’s wide open style of offense.

After Lane (playing for Lord) stopped a runner for no-gain on first down at the North 45 to set up second and long, it was Pauley’s replacement who next made his presence felt.  Given the tough task of covering Memorial’s best receiver, junior Heath Spindler found himself isolated deep near in North territory in one-on-one coverage against a man who stood four inches taller than him. 

As the ball rocketed toward the receiver, Spindler adjusted his coverage, leapt between the receiver and the ball, and made a one-handed baseball-style interception.  He had the presence of mind to get both feet down inside the out-of-bounds line, and for the second time in two weeks, North had generated a pair of first-half turnovers.

GOING FOR IT ON FOURTH DOWN

There are few moments in football that test a coach’s mettle more than making the decision on fourth and short to either punt the ball away or “go for it”.  Following Spindler’s interception, the Huskies drive appeared to stall at the 26 yard line when they faced 4^th down and 2 yards to go. 

Coach Wilson called time out and called the team to the sideline.  When the kicking unit failed to enter the game, there was a hush that fell over the North stands.  To go for it at a team’s own 26 early in the game is a gamble with certain risks—and the Husky coach knew them well.  To fail would give Memorial the ball in prime field position to tie the score and perhaps change the momentum of the game.

WATTERS’ “COMBO” BLOCKS

But Wilson had noticed during the prior possession that the left side of North’s line was beginning to “handle” the right side of the Tigers’ defensive line.  Principally, he had noticed that when junior tight end Drew Watters worked “combo blocks” with tackle Jeff Burch, Watters had cleared a corridor around left end.

A combo block involves the tight end helping the tackle to double team the defensive end, establish control of the defender, and then release the player to the tackle and proceed downfield to block the outside linebacker.  It’s not an easy thing to do and most players cannot consistently accomplish that type of block.  On this night, Drew Watters ran the combo block about as well as anyone has run them in recent North memory.

The play called during the timeoutl was a sweep to the left side toward the North sideline.  RB Blake Howell took the pitch from QB Max Mooney five yards deep behind the line of scrimmage.  He was running to the short side of the field and was seven yards short of the first down marker when he caught the ball.

First, Burch and Watters double teamed the end on that side and Howell began to angle forward toward the line of scrimmage.  Watters released on the end and then slid up field where he made contact with the linebacker.  He “can-openered” the defender and Howell turned straight up field behind him.  Lane had turned the corner in tandem with Howell and got a piece of the cornerback.  Suddenly the path ahead was clear.

A fourth-and-two gambit at the North 26 yard line turned into a 74 yard touchdown sprint by Blake Howell.  North’s success was only marred by a missed extra point and at the time, few people in the stands figured that the single point would matter over the course of the evening.

Things were just warming up, however, and the matter of extra points would become the determining factor in the game.

SECOND QUARTER

With things going decidedly in their favor, North looked to be building up steam when Max Mooney sprinted 44 yards to begin the second quarter. 

To not have played five minutes of varsity football prior to the start of the 2011 season, Mooney already plays with the aplomb of a gifted quarterback.  His running style is aggressive but coltish.  When he turns the corner on an option play he is all legs and elbows and appears gangly as he turns up field—and then he blows past defenders like they were sitting still.  When he went 44 yards, it represented the 16^th time this season that he has had a run of ten yards or longer.  Barring injury, he could present City football opponents with problems the likes of which they haven’t had to face from North in some time.

Because North’s greatest success through the years has come when they run the “Option” offense well,  the junior gives North its best chance to win football games since 2007 when an All-State quarterback was running the offense.  He truly makes it an “Option”—the defense is forced to consider him as a viable running threat rather than just focusing on the running backs.

TURNOVER

With those great talents also come growing pains.  Two plays later that was apparent when Mooney made a pitch to Howell and the running back was nowhere to be found near the ball.  Mooney’s fake handoff had apparently been so convincing that the running back had failed to run out the option play.  The pitch to the trailing back went sailing up field and a Memorial defender recovered it at the 22.

Where the Huskies had been at the 2 yard line and threatening to go up three touchdowns only seconds before, Memorial had the ball and a considerable lift to their spirits.

LONG DRIVE

The renewed spirits showed.  Bolstered by the confidence of the turnover, the Tigers began to exploit inadvertent “seams” in the Husky defense.  With Lord and Pauley out, several replacement players appeared to be confused by the Tigers’ complex passing scheme offense and more than once, receivers were open more because of blown coverage assignments than by talent.  The Tigers converted two third down plays and a fourth down play on a 12 play drive to the end zone.  A 10 yard run by their biggest running back cut the North lead to 13-7.

BAD OMENS

Things did not get better for the Huskies when they went “three and out” on their next possession.  On the first play of the series, a Husky receiver broke free past the Memorial defender and was wide open for an apparent touchdown reception.  The throw from Mooney hit the receiver in the hands and for an instant it appeared North would regain momentum in the game with another lightning score. 

The ball slipped from the receiver’s grasp and, ultimately, the punt team was called out to do their duty.

A further indicator of troubled times ahead occurred on the punt.  A high booming punt landed at Memorial’s 33 yard line but as luck would have it, the ball landed on its point and kicked back up field toward North territory.  Before a defender could “down” the ball, it rested at the Tigers’ 44 yard line and the opponent was facing a short field ahead of them.

GOOD FIELD POSITION = POINTS:  A FAMILIAR STORY

It was a familiar story on Memorial’s ensuing possession.   They drove 56 yards in 8 plays and converted a fourth down on the drive.  The touchdown occurred on a short pass play in which the big running back was left uncovered in the flat due to a blown coverage and he sprinted to the end zone 30 yards away unscathed.  Memorial made their extra point and now led in the game 14-13.

GOTTA LOVE THE LIGHTNING

The first glimmers of the pending bad weather were showing up far in the western skies beyond the stadium.  A few flashes of lightning up in the clouds foretold that change was coming.

On the football field, Mooney and Spindler wrought lightning changes of their own. 

Where Spindler had picked up the slack for Pauley on defense, he also did the same on offense.  With North starting from their 35 after the kick off, Mooney threw the ball long and deep to his left in front of the Memorial sideline on first down.

Given that the Tigers had been susceptible on 1^st down during North’s prior drive to give up “the long ball” (when the pass slipped through the receiver’s fingers), North had gone “back to the well” on its first play but chosen the opposite side of the field this time.

Spindler actually had to wait just a bit on Mooney’s throw, but that worked to his favor and enabled him to get separation from his defender.  He hesitated in his stride, plucked the ball from the air, and fell backwards with the ball landing softly on his chest and safely in his arms for a 31 yard gain to the Memorial 34 yard line.

MOONEY MAGIC

Mooney then worked further magic with his feet and ran the option play to his right to perfection.  Faking the dive handoff, cutting behind tackle Jourdan Seib’s perfect block, and turning up field, he was into the secondary before the Tigers knew where he was.  When the defense tried to bar his way to the right end zone flag, he cut back to his left at the 15 yard line, and ran straight for the goal posts.  On his 17^th long run of the season, Mooney went 34 yards and gave North the lead again at 19-14.

Given the mathematics of a 5 point lead, the Huskies lined up to “Go for two” and Mooney pushed his way across the goal line behind a bruising surge by Byars, Jones, and Burch.  North led by 7 points with 2:20 to play in the half.

NOT ANOTHER KICKOFF DISASTER?

North’s advantage was short lived, however, because the kickoff coverage fell apart on the next play.  Despite K Sam Daywalt driving the ball inside the ten yard line,  the Memorial return man broke through the middle of the field, angled to his left, and appeared certain to score.  Only Heath Spindler (proving that he was “the fastest man on the field”) prevented the Tiger from scoring.  Spindler ran the man down from behind despite trailing him by 15 yards at midfield.

Memorial scored on the next play with a 10 yard roll out pass to their big running back (his third TD of the quarter) and the kick tied the game at 21.

SECOND HALF

Unfortunately, Spindler was called on to perform similar heroics just after the second half got under way.  On 1^st down, Watters had blown up a bubble screen for a two yard loss.  DT Teddy Wilbourn had flown through the air and made a “Division One” play on second down and stopped Memorial’s big running back for no gain.  Faced with 3^rd and 12, the Tigers ran a fly pattern pass play down the left sideline without much expectation of success.

That is, until their quarterback pump faked and their lanky, 6’3” receiver got separation from his defender.  It fell to Spindler to run him down from behind 63 yards later.

The outcome was the same as before when the Tigers scored on the next play and made it 28-21 Memorial.

MISCUES CONTINUE

Roland Eldridge gave North great field position with a kick return to the 40 yard line and the Huskies string of lightning strikes looked poised to continue.  Watters repeated his combo-block expertise on 1^st down and the results were similar to the first half.  Howell jetted through the corridor that the talented tight end had cleared for him and zipped 43 yards to the Memorial 17.

Two plays later, he fumbled a pitch and a scoring opportunity was killed by a miscue.

DAMON BYARS SAYS, “HELLO”

On first down at their 14, Memorial’s quarterback dropped back to pass.  DT Damon Byars made a point of introducing himself to the hapless passer and planted him firmly in the turf for a five yard sack.  Byars was a disruptive force throughout the second half of the game.  Along with Wilbourn at the other tackle position, the Huskies began to establish a presence on the defensive line that would be crucial to the outcome of the game. 

Memorial had no “answer” for Byars and Wilbourn and as a result they had to punt the ball away.

ANOTHER MISCUE

Howell garnered a first down running off left tackle and North re-entered Memorial territory.  A misting drizzle had given way to steady rain drops at this point and following a three yard loss, the Huskies faced 2^nd and 13 when Mooney dropped back to pass.  His pass was errant and a Memorial defender stepped in front of it for a Tiger interception at the 40 yard line.

Wilbourn laid out the running back for a 4 yard loss on 1^st down and Howell correctly read a bubble screen pass and turned it into a 2 yard loss on 2^nd down.  DE Mike Johnson flushed the quarterback from the pocket on 3^rd down and Memorial was soon punting again.

THE RAIN BEGINS TO POUR

The change of climate bothered both teams.  The steady rain that had begun to fall was affecting both the ball handling and the play calling and the players were reacting accordingly.  Both teams played sloppily and an exchange of punts resulted.

Brandon Dickens and Drew Watters were apparently the first players to regain their equilibrium.

As the third quarter wound down, Memorial had begun to move the ball through the storm.  While fans were rushing for cover wherever they could find it, the Tigers advanced steadily with short, sure handoffs to running backs plunging straight into the line.

They varied from their routine on 1^st and 10 at the North 39 and Dickens and Watters changed the game.

Risking a pass into the flat, Memorial threw to a receiver at the North 30.  He caught the ball but as soon as he turned to run, Dickens jarred the football loose and Watters dove across the wet surface to come up with the fumble on the final play of the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

After a couple short gains, North faced 3^rd and 5, trailing by seven, battling the elements, and confronted with a long field ahead of them.  If there was a point at which the team could have easily given up, this was it.

NEVER-SAY-DIE-DUVANTE LANE

Enter Duvante Lane.  Apparently no one told him it was time to throw in the towel.  Courtesy of a devastating surge by Byars and Burch, Lane ran off left tackle and picked up the first down and more.

A lot more.

He didn’t stop until he was into Memorial territory and brought down at the 40 yard line.  “Big” Mike Johnson hammered the Tigers, who were now back on their heels and being man-handled by the resurgent North line, for eight yards.  Mooney recorded his 18^th run of 10 yards or longer on the season on 2^nd down and then Howell followed Byars for 15 more to the 2 yard line.  Mooney’s quarterback sneak on 1^st and Goal put the Huskies back in the game. 

Turi came on to kick the extra point that would tie the score and the rain was falling so hard that it was tough to see the goal posts from the visitors’ stands.  Nonetheless, the freshman coolly booted the ball through the uprights to knot the score at 28.

TURNOVER NUMBER FOUR

After forcing a Tiger punt, North took over at their 13 yard line and courted disaster.  With the downpour nearing its crescendo, the snap escaped Mooney’s fingers and the ball got kicked forward in the resulting tumult.  Memorial recovered at the 18 yard line.

Watters answered the call again on 1^st down and thumped the Tiger running back for a 2 yard loss.  Lane nailed a receiver at the line of scrimmage on 2^nd down and it appeared that North might, literally, weather the storm it was in.

On 3^rd and 12, despite being flushed from the pocket by the pass rush, Memorial’s quarterback tossed a strike into the right hand corner of the end zone and Memorial took a 34-28 lead.  The North faithful that remained in the stands let out a collective groan with 5 minutes to play and it appeared that the turnovers had killed the Huskies chances for victory.

A REPRIEVE

With the rain not relenting, Memorial tried to kick the extra point.  The ball went wide and to the left of the uprights and the Tigers had left the door open for North if the Huskies could manage a touchdown.

Given the conditions, those prospects were not bright with 5:11 to play.

HOWELL’S BIG RUN

With the ball at the 25 after the kickoff and the storm sending waves of rain down on the field, a North victory seemed about as plausible as sunshine at that moment.

When Mooney handed the ball to Howell on 1^st down,  the running back again headed towards left end with an eye to his blocking tight end.  Burch and Watters hit the defensive end and Watters sealed off the linebacker.  WR Brock Underwood executed a perfect block on the corner back and Howell was free into the secondary again.  He rambled 38 yards to the Memorial 37 before being forced out of bounds.

“BIG” MIKE JOHNSON BUTTS HELMETS

North’s last chance looked like it might die from drowning at the 29 on 3^rd down and 3.  “Big” Mike Johnson lined up at tailback and took a handoff around left end. 

Unfortunately there was a linebacker standing squarely in his path at the line of scrimmage.

It was one-on-one football at its finest.

And Big Mike won.

The clash of helmets occurred in front of North’s water-logged cheerleaders and could be heard in the stands.  Johnson bowled over the linebacker, did the “spin drill” move in a clockwise motion, maintained his feet, and made it to the 8 yard line before the defense brought him down.

Howell busted into the line behind Byars and moved the pile to the one yard line.  Two plays later he again followed Byars into the end zone with the game tying score.

Under the worst conditions, with a young team, the Huskies had driven the length of the field to put themselves in a position to win with just 1:43 to go on the clock.

THE EXTRA POINT

20 years from now, those that were there will probably exaggerate the story of what occurred next.  By that time, the storm will be embellished to tornado status and the line of scrimmage will likely be somewhere near the 30 yard line.

But what occurred was unparalleled in North’s recent experience in its own right.  North had not won a game decided by less than a touchdown in four seasons.  The Huskies had played six games over the period that were decided by 7 points or less and gone “Oh-For-Six”.

When Turi trotted out to line up the extra point attempt that would give North the lead, the field was soaked, the players were drenched, and the ball was slimy.

It would take a good snap, a solid hold, and a firmly placed foot to convert the kick. 

Turi appeared confident beyond his years and waved his team mates into position.

The snap from Dylan Simmons was perfect, Mooney set the ball down on the spot, and Turi booted the ball square between the uprights.

The kick would have been good from 20 yards further out.

North led 35-34 and Byars, Wilbourn, and Johnson ate the Tigers up on their last possession.

North had its first victory over Memorial since 2007, won its first game decided by less than 7 points in four years, and had established itself as a team of character.

CONCLUSIONS

This was a game in which a dozen “game balls” could have been given out.  Certainly the four turnovers were uncharacteristic of the 2011 Huskies but two of them were attributable to the conditions.

This was a game in which:

• ·         Howell ran for 239 yards and made numerous tackles for loss on defense. 

• ·         Watters did not catch a pass in the game but enabled many of the rushing yards with his blocking and played fearless defense at linebacker.

• ·         Byars recorded two sacks and a tackle for loss and owned his portion of the offensive line of scrimmage

• ·         Mooney generated three plays longer than 30 yards and led the team on a pair of 70 yard drives in the 4^th quarter to win the game.

• ·         Lane recovered fumbles, stopped runners at the line of scrimmage, scored one touchdown and sparked another with a long run.

• ·         Spindler’s big plays in the first half enabled North’s early lead.

• ·         The offensive line opened holes for 432 yards rushing.

But in the end, the image that endures is the freshman kicker Zac Turi standing up not once but twice in a driving rain storm and coolly blasting kicks between the uprights.  Sometimes the little things are the hardest things to accomplish as well as the biggest things in importance.

This night was one of those times.

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