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North 42 Central 35 - at Central Stadium Oct 14, 2011

Game Stats    Game Recap    Game Possession Chart

Offense

October 14 NORTH vs Central VARSITY Offensive Stats
             
Passing              
Player Att Com % Yards TD INT Notes:
MOONEY 16 9 56% 69 0 1  
  0 0  -- 0 0 0  
TOTAL 16 9 56% 69 0 1  
             
Rushing              
Player Att Yds Avg TD Long Fum Notes:
HOWELL 29 221 7.6 2 43 1 1-2yd TD; 2-9yd TD
LANE 12 80 6.7 3 37 0 1-2yd TD; 2-2yd TD; 3-3yd TD
MOONEY 11 49 4.5 0 15 0  
PAULEY 1 39 39.0 0 39 0  
JOHNSON 5 22 4.4 1 7 1 1-6yd TD
TOTAL 58 411 7.1 6 43 2  
             
Receiving              
Player Rec To " Yds Avg TD Long Notes:
LANE 2 2 21 10.5 0 12  
PAULEY 2 4 12 6.0 0 7  
WATTERS 1 2 12 12.0 0 12  
UNDERWOOD 2 4 11 5.5 0 6  
HOWELL 1 1 11 11.0 0 11  
SPINDLER 1 3 2 2.0 0 2  
TOTAL 9 16 69 7.7 0 12  
  * thrown to        
             
Returns              
Player Type No. Yds Avg. TD Long Notes:
PAULEY Punt 3 45 15.0   39  
ELDRIDGE KO 1 26 26.0   26  
LORD KO 1 5 5.0   5  
  Int     ####      
TOTAL   5 76 15.2 0 39  
             
Kicks              
Player Type No. Yds Avg. Long   Notes:
TURI KO 7 282 40.3 47   5-squibbed
OGBURN Punt 1 35 35.0 35    
TOTAL   8 317 39.6 58    
             
Scoring              
Player Total TD rush TD rec TD ret 2pt XP XP kick FG
LANE 18 3 0 0 0 0 0
HOWELL 12 2 0 0 0 0 0
JOHNSON 6 1 0 0 0 0 0
TURI 4 0 0 0 0 4 0
SPINDLER 2 0 0 0 1 0 0
TOTAL 42 6 0 0 1 4 0

Team Stats

Oct 14 NORTH vs Central Team Stats
     
  NORTH   CENTRAL
25 FIRST DOWNS 11
19 Rushing 3
4 Passing 7
2 Penalty 1
411 RUSHING YARDS 30
58 Rushing attempts 17
7.1 Avg yds per rush 1.8
69 PASSING YARDS 257
16 Attempts 35
9 Completions 18
56% Completion % 51%
7.7 Avg yds per completion 14.3
0 (0) Sacked / Yards Lost 3 (-23)
480 TOTAL YARDS 287
74 Plays 52
6.5 Avg yds per play 5.5
3 TURNOVERS 0
2 Fumbles lost 0
1 Passes HAD intercepted 0
0 Points scored off turnovers 13
3 / 22 PENALTIES / YARDS 15 / 101
11 / 15 3rd down conversions 7 / 13
3 / 3 4th down conversions 0 / 1
     
SCORING      
QTR TIME PLAY SCORE
1st 11:11 Hooper 5 yd TD reception (Hester) 0 - 6
    Garrett 2pt XP run 0 - 8
  4:54 Howell 2 yd TD run 6 - 8
    Spindler 2pt XP reception (Mooney) 8 - 8
  1:56 Bender 15 yd TD reception (Hester) 8 - 14
    Anderson XP kick 8 - 15
2nd 9:13 Garrett 2 yd TD run 8 - 21
    Anderson XP kick 8 - 22
  8:09 Bender 15 yd TD reception (Hester) 8 - 28
    XP kick missed 8 - 28
  3:59 Lane 2 yd TD run 14 - 28
    2pt XP run failed 14 - 28
  2:11 Fuchs 29 yd TD reception (Hester) 14 - 34
    Anderson XP kick 14 - 35
3rd 7:32 Howell 9 yd TD run 20 - 35
    Turi XP kick 21 - 35
  0:31 Lane 2 yd TD run 27 - 35
    Turi XP kick 28 - 35
4th 7:17 Johnson 6 yd TD run 34 - 35
    Turi XP kick 35 - 35
  1:53 Lane 3 yd TD run 41 - 35
    Turi XP kick 42 - 35

Defense

Game Recap

HUSKIES HOWL IN 2ND HALF AND DEFEAT BEARS 42-35

Few victories are as sweetly savored as one over an arch-rival.  Of the few that do, none is more delicious than victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.  North’s 42-35 win against Central offered a chance to sample both dishes, and by all accounts, the victory was seasoned with equal parts of perseverance, inspiration, and determination.

Memories of Central’s class-less victory in 2010 still linger.  Tossing long bomb passes with a 30 point lead in the second half, the Bears had earned the enmity of the Husky faithful in their only win in the series since 2007.  When the Evansville paper established this season's game as “a toss up” without a true favorite, it matched the Sagarin Computer Rankings which had the two teams at comparable values.

This was the 36th time that the two schools had squared off with the Buehler’s North Side Trophy on the line and the 55th meeting between Central and North.  North entered with an overall lead in the series (27-26-1) but trailed in the North Side Trophy contests by a count of 19-16.

SPECIAL TEAMS “EPIC FAIL

In a tale all too common to the Huskies this season, the kickoff coverage was anemic to begin the game.  A squib kick failed to “squib” and the Central return man caught the short kick on the fly.  Containment failed and it took the fastest Husky, Logan Van Leer, most of the field to catch the runner.  With a first down at the North 11, it took the Bears just 34 seconds to score their first touchdown with a 5 yard pass.

Special teams failed again when a Husky jumped off side before the snap on the extra point giving Central reason to “go for two”.  A quick dive into the end zone gave them an 8 point lead before the Huskies knew what hit them.

CREDIT THE OFFENSIVE LINE

By all appearances, the Bears were “built” to beat the Huskies.  They featured a pair of tackles, one of whom stood 6’8” 290 lbs and the other was 6’5” 340 lbs.  Those two were supported by linebackers of comparable athletic skill to North’s.  If the Huskies were to have success, it would fall to the offensive line to win the struggle up front against a big opponent.

The Husky offensive line would live up to the task.

Ask any running back who is most responsible for his success and you will find that he is quick to compliment his blockers in front of him.  The gold standard for measuring such success is the yards gained rushing in a game.

There is only one way to gain yards rushing against a big opponent—you have to go earn them.

In the 54 year history of North varsity football, prior to 2011, the Huskies had played 541 football games.  In just TEN of those games had North rushed for over 400 yards as a team.  Expressed differently, in only 1.8% of the games played had North so thoroughly dominated their opponent that they could gain 400 yards on the ground.

Friday night would mark THE THIRD TIME THIS SEASON that North topped the 400 yard mark.

Tackles 6’0” 235 lb Sr. Jeff Burch, 6’0” 230 lb Jr. Jourdan Seib, guards 6’1” 290 lb Sr. Damon Byars, 5’10” 240 lb Sr. Sam Jones, and center 5’9” 235 lb Jr. Dylan Simmons won the battle of the trenches often enough that the 2011 Huskies broke the 400 yard mark in one-third of their games.

FIRST GLIMPSE OF THINGS TO COME

Following a kickoff out-of-bounds by Central, North took over at the 35 yard line.  Up against a big defensive line, Coach Wilson looked to size-up his opponent early.  On four of their first five plays from scrimmage, the Huskies ran between the tackles to see if the Bears played as big as their stature.

They didn’t.

Steady gains of four and five yards moved the ball into Bear territory before a pass play from QB Max Mooney to WR Ty Pauley netted a first down at the Central 38.  Pauley’s great one-handed catch brought the crowd to its feet and resulted in multiple replays on the television broadcast of the game.

The Bears’ defense stiffened momentarily, but when faced with 3rd and 7 Mooney hit TE Drew Watters on an “out” pattern in front of the North bench.  Watters looked like he would be stopped well short of the 1st down marker but broke away from two would-be tacklers and made his way to the 23 before being brought down.

From there, the Huskies looked to be running “down-hill” against the Bears.  Running out of an “I” formation, first RB Blake Howell took a sweep 7 yards around left end.  Then FB Du’vante Lane hammered an option dive play up the gut for 10 yards.  With 1st and Goal to Go at the 6, two Howell runs put the ball in the end zone.

The Huskies had strung together a 13 play, 65 yard drive that ate up over six minutes off the clock.  This would be the model for the second half of the game.

For now, though, trailing 8-6, Wilson called upon a new play to tie the score with a two point conversion.  With WR Heath Spindler lined up at right wing back, he snuck beneath two receivers who were angling to the center of the end zone and found himself wide open for Mooney’s pass.  The score was tied at 8-8 with just under 5 minutes to play in the quarter.

CENTRAL ANSWERS

With a 3 year starter at quarterback—and a player who is being recruited by Big 10 football schools—it was no surprise that Central came out throwing the ball.  Their “over-the-top” offense drove down 63 yard for another score in just under 3 minutes of play and gave the Bears a 15-8 lead.

PAULEY’S JETS!

It became apparent that defense would not be much of a factor in the early going when North took over at their 34.  Mooney took the snap out of the I formation, faked a handoff to the running back, and rolled to his right on a naked bootleg play with no protection.  As the defense hurried toward him, he threw back to his left and hit Lane for a 12 yard gain that put the ball at the 46.

Two plays later, facing 3rd and 5, Mooney handed off on a sweep to the right.  Simultaneously, Ty Pauley had started back to his left and took the ball on a reverse running play.  The back side cornerback looked to have “read” the play correctly and it appeared that Pauley would be held to a short gain.  The fleet footed receiver broke the tackle at the 45 yard line and “turned on the jets” as he streaked down the sideline.  He was inside the ten yard line before a defender could force him out of bounds.

Unfortunately, a North running back fumbled the ball at the goal line on the next play and Central recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

SECOND QUARTER

Central all but abandoned the running game when they took over at the 20 yard line.  Completing 5 of 9 passes, they marched 80 yards in 2 minutes and 45 seconds and took a 22-8 lead in the game.

ANOTHER TURNOVER

Following a “Keystone Cops Routine” on the kickoff return in which two Huskies alternately botched a catch, swatted the ball back and forth, bounced it off one another’s foot, and finally just fell on the pig skin, the Huskies were hemmed in at their 8 yard line.  Blake Howell took a sweep around right end on 1st down, found a seam, and cut back to his left.  He raced into the Central secondary and slipped while making a “cut-to-daylight” that would have produced a touchdown had he not fallen.

Instead, North had 1st and 10 at the 34 yard line following a 26 yard gain.

The excitement was short lived, however, because Central intercepted a short pass and returned it to the North 39.

TRAIL 28-8 WITH JUST 4 MINUTES GONE IN THE 2ND QUARTER

It took Central just two passes to score.  A 34 yard post pattern pass was accompanied by a holding call on the 5 yard line.  The penalty had little affect other than giving the Central receivers more room to operate and a 15 yard pass made the score 28-8.  When Central’s kicker missed the extra point attempt wide right, things looked as dim for the Huskies in 2011 as they had in 2010’s 56-33 loss to the Bears.

Or so it appeared.

Coach Wilson gathered the offense around him on the sideline before the kickoff and not only reassured them that North was still “in” this game, but that they were going to win the game despite the score at that moment.

Apparently the offensive line believed him.

HOLES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DEFENSE

Another kickoff out-of-bounds gave the Huskies good field position at the 35.  When Central blitzed on 1st down and brought about a 4 yard loss, it certainly marked the “Low Water Mark” of the evening.  North faced 2nd and long, trailing by 20 points to an opponent whose passing game they had no answer to.

And then Byars, Simmons, and Jones opened up the middle of the Bear defense like a can opener.

Du’vante Lane knew what to do with the opportunities.

A trap play on 2nd down gained 10 yards to the 41 yard line.  On 3rd down and 4, as he would do four different times on the evening, Lane carried for a 1st down…

…and then some.

Breaking through the “2” hole in the line, Lane cut quickly to his right and rambled into the secondary.  It took the Bears until he reached the 22 yard line to gather enough tacklers to bring the North fullback down.

Following an encroachment penalty, Mooney ran a quarterback sneak for another 1st down up the middle.  Howell gained six running behind Byars,BigMike Johnson entered the game and gained a first down and goal-to-go on two carries into the middle of the line.  Lane hammered home the touchdown on a dive play behind Byars and North was “back in the game”.

TRAILING BY 21 AND WINNING THE BATTLE

It is hard to comprehend until you dive deeper than the numbers.  When Central answered North’s score with another of their own via a “Seven Pass” possession, the Bears took a 21 point lead into halftime and felt that they had the ball game in hand.

A closer look, though, left evidence that there were chinks in their armor.  The two teams had virtually the same number of total yards of offense—so the Bears’ defense had not “solved” North’s offense.  Rather, the Huskies had twice turned the ball over and it had led to Central scores.

North had more first downs, few penalties, and led the time of possession by a total of 13:35 to 9:25.  Where Central had 218 yards passing at half, North had 198 yards rushing.  Passing attacks are much more susceptible to “disruption” of their timing than rushing attacks are vulnerable to changes.

North planned to disrupt the Central passing game in the second half and disrupt it they did.

SECOND HALF

What had worked consistently on offense in the first half for the Huskies worked equally well in the second half.  North moved the ball from the 24 to the 43 with multiple inside runs.  With the ball sitting at the 43, Max Mooney lined up behind center.

BORN TO RUN

It’s an unfortunate by-product of the way stats are calculated that when a quarterback is “sacked” while attempting to pass, the lost yards are counted against his personal rushing total.  As a result, Mooney is only credited with 374 yards rushing and a 3.9 yard average carry.  Those numbers are misleading.

Mooney ranks among the elite Husky rushing quarterbacks of all-time in a key statistic:  Twenty-One times this season he has had runs of 10 yards or longer.  21 times Mooney has taken off on the option, let the ball sit on the dive back’s hip until the last possible moment, and then pulled the ball back and slipped past a defense that had to know what was coming next but was powerless to do anything about it.

He’s not the fastest runner in the backfield, he’s not the most stout or physically imposing of the runners, but without doubt, he was “Born To Run”.  His 2011 season ranks behind only Dion Pendleton (’06-’07), Bryce Lowery (’04), Kareem Neighbors (’95), and Brian Huebner (’90) for mobile North quarterbacks.  If you factor out the sacks, his rushing numbers would be 80 carries for 473 yards and a 5.9 yard average with at least one more game to play.

On 2nd and 6 at the 43, Mooney optioned the end by faking a dive handoff to Lane and took off around left end for his 22nd long gain of the season and rambled into Central territory at the 41.

Mooney later coaxed the Bears into successive encroachment penalties by altering his signal calling at the line of scrimmage and Huskies had 1st and 10 at the 18.  Howell ran behind Byars for 9 yards on 1st down and then gained the final 9 running behind Byars again—only this time North had flip-flopped the offensive line and the run was to the right instead.  This new wrinkle would work effectively against the Central line during the entire second half and got the Huskies within 14 points when Zac Turi kicked the extra point.

THREE AND OUT

North’s second half defensive strategy change called for a complete change of philosophy.  Where the first half had seen the Huskies rushing four linemen and dropping seven back in coverage, the second stanza would see a change to Man-to-Man pass coverage and everyone not covering a pass would rush the quarterback.

Central never adjusted.

Moving Ty Pauley from safety to cornerback and inserting Heath Spindler at the corner on the other side gave the Huskies two speedy outside men who could keep up with Centrals receivers.  Both cornerbacks would shine in the second half by deflecting deep passes in one-on-one coverage against taller receivers.

The Bears threw three balls deep on their first possession and all three were easily defended.  They had the ball for a grand total of 26 seconds and it would be their only possession of the 3rd quarter.

THE SPIRIT KILLER

It has been written on these pages in the past that ballgames often are won by the team that makes adjustments at halftime that the opponent fails to counter.  Tonight would prove that rule.

When Central’s punt rolled to a stop at the North 37, 7:03 remained to play in the quarter.  It was at this point that North took final control of the ball game.  Though trailing by two touchdowns, the North offensive line displayed a grit and determination that withered the Central will to continue to contest the battle up front.

The drive that followed was a “spirit killer

In a possession in which the longest play from scrimmage gained just SEVEN yards, the Huskies sustained a 15 play, 63 yard drive to pay dirt that included two third down conversions and two fourth down conversions.  When Lane blasted in from the two yard line on the final play of the quarter, Central’s big lineman were visibly “all-in”—the fight was gone from them and only their size kept them from being complete pushovers.  Turi’s kick brought the Huskies within seven at 35-28.

FOURTH QUARTER

If the offensive line owned its side of the line of scrimmage, the fourth quarter belonged to North’s front seven defenders..

When Central returned the kick to the 35, the Bears’ coach rallied his troops along the sideline and exhorted them to move forward.  LB Drew Watters quickly showed the Bears what he thought of their coach’s request with a monster hit on a running back at the 38.

On 2nd and 7, the Central “All-Everything” quarterback dropped back to pass.  DE “BigMike Johnson blew past the big tackle in front of him and introduced the quarterback to the artificial turf at Central Stadium.  Pieces of yellow plastic were visible from the quarterback’s facemask when he regained his feet.

Watters and fellow linebacker Brandon Dickens stopped a 3rd and 13 draw play cold after a 3 yard gain and Central was held to another “three-and-out”.

NEAR DISASTER

Blake Howell wasted no time in getting North what appeared to be an upper hand on the next play.  Running what looked to be a counter play off left guard, he broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and raced 43 yards along the left side sideline to the Central 24.

Out of breath, he was replaced and a collective sigh went up from the North stands when his replacement fumbled on the very next play at the Central 17 yard line.

DEEEEE-FENSE

On this night, there should have been no worries.

Central’s coach refused to make adjustments, so confident was he in his quarterback’s ability to solve North’s pass defense.  He continued to throw long despite the heavy pass rush.

With defenders grabbing at his jersey and with the quarterback usually ending up on the ground after each attempt, Central tried long passes down both sidelines.

Spindler and safety Logan Van Leer deflected both passes to set up a punting situation.

REPEAT WITH ONE SLIGHT CHANGE

Pauley returned the punt to the North 43 and there were 8 minutes to play in the game with the Huskies still trailing by eight points.

Blake Howell ran the exact same play on first down that he had on the last possession.

With the same result.

Breaking through the line, he went 18 yards to the Central 39, but unlike last time, he stayed in the game.  On the next play, North flip flopped its line and they ran a similar play to the right.  As Howell emerged from the line of scrimmage he was trailing behind senior tackle Jeff Burch.  Using Burch as a battering ram, Howell guided him like a missile at the linebacker and the big tackle pancaked the defender in his tracks.  Howell angled past the block and made it to the six yard line before being brought down.

This time when he came out for a breather, his replacement was up to the task at hand.

Taking a hand off toward left tackle, “BigMike Johnson found no hole to run through.  Johnson lived up to his nickname, however, and bounced off the pile and dashed toward left end.  Dragging one would-be tackler behind him and carrying one his back, Johnson crossed the goal line with the game tying touchdown with one inch to spare.  Turi’s third kick of the night split the uprights and North had tied the game with 7:17 to play.

CENTRAL GIVES UP

With Turi making a good open field tackle on the ensuing kickoff, Central was starting from their 23 yard line with a little over 7 minutes on the clock.

Good teams would see this as an opportunity to “pull one out of the fire”.  A team with guts would seize the moment and bring their best efforts to the front and center.

The only good team on the field in the fourth quarter Friday night was wearing Green and White.

On 1st down, Central attempted a reverse in the face of a blitz.  Their coach was still refusing to recognize that North’s strategy called for traps, screens, and draw plays.  Instead he ran a slow developing play that had their runner eight yards behind the line of scrimmage before he got his hands on the ball.

And Drew Watters wasn’t fooled one bit by the ploy.  The big linebacker ate up the running back like a hungry nomad and dropped him for a five yard loss.

The following play saw the Bears called for a pointless personal foul and took the ball back to the 13.

On 2nd and 20, Johnson and tackle Teddy Wilbourn had a meeting with the quarterback that Central hadn’t planned for.  The rushed throw fell harmlessly incomplete and brought up 3rd and 20.

FINALLY A SCREEN PASS

Finally, after having blown a 21 point lead, Central called a screen pass as North brought seven men in a blitz and the play looked to have life as the receiver took the ball around left end with three blockers ahead of him and an open field to run in.

Enter Ty Pauley.

There are players and then there are big time players.  Ty Pauley is at his best in the open field.  Whether it is running a fly pattern, taking a reverse, or returning a kick, few people can match him move for move in the open field.  He is a big time player.

North needed one on this play

With the game tied and five minutes on the clock, the receiver with the screen pass was in perfect position to pick up 40 or more yards.  He was in front of his own bench and the first down marker was only a few steps ahead.  Another series of downs beckoned him and with three blockers in front, possibly the game winning touchdown lay in his immediate future.

Pauley seized the moment.  He was wearing Green and White and the other guys weren’t.

Brushing aside the blockers, Pauley matched the open field zig-zag of the Central runner move for move and dropped him in his tracks short of the first down marker.  4th down brought about another punt.

PAULEY CLOSES THE SHOW

Central’s punter got off his best punt of the night and booted a high kick 38 yards down field.  Poised and ready to return for North was number 9.

Having already displayed his defensive mettle with a brilliant one-on-one tackle on the previous play, Ty Pauley effectively ended the game with his next few seconds of brilliance.

A dazzling open field runner, he gathered the punt in and quickly hop-stepped to his right before jumping back to his left.  He got one block on a Central defender and sprinted to his left full tilt for the North sideline.  He rocketed past defenders and when he found himself hemmed in against the out of bounds, cut back in toward the hash mark.  Pauley made it all the way to the Central 19 before the Bears brought him down.

42-35

Lane caught a 3rd down pass from Mooney that got a poor spot from the officials and set up a 4th and inches at the 10 yard line.  Blake Howell ran behind Byars again and drove the ball to the 5 yard line.  Another Howell dive had the ball at the 3.  Lane did the heavy lifting on a dive off the option play and scored the winning touchdown with 1:53 to play.  Despite a high snap, Turi booted home his 30th point of the season and North had its winning margin of 42-35

CONCLUSION

With the victory, North finished 4-2 in City play and tied with Reitz for second in the City standings.  The team that beat Central is a far cry from the one that lost to Henderson County early in the season.  The addition of Teddy Wilbourn and Du’vante Lane to the defensive line has brought out the best in Johnson and Byars.  The inexperienced secondary has developed into a collection of hard-hitting, pass deflecting gamers.

But perhaps the biggest difference is on offense where the front-five patrol the trenches with a certain swagger.  Confident in their ability to match up against bigger opponents, the North offensive line has accomplished something no other O-Line in school history has managed to do before:  Open holes for three 400 yard rushing games in one season.

With a bye week to prepare for a most-likely second round match up at Castle, that swagger should be in evidence the next time we see this “Good Football Team” play again.

 

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POSSESSIONS:

  NORTH VS CENTRAL  10/14/2011 - DEFENSIVE STATS  
                   
PLAYER SOLO ASST. T-FL SACK C FUM R FUM INT BK POINTS
DREW WATERS 7 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 20
MIKE JOHNSON 4 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 17
COLTON LORD 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
HEATH SPINDLER 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8
TY PAULEY 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8
THOMAS WILBOURNE 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 6
JAY'VON GILMORE 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
DAMON BYERS 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
BLAKE HOWELL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
BRANDON DICKENS 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
LOGAN VANLEER 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
DUVANTE' LANE 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
ZAC TURI 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
JUSTIN LOCKETT 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
TOTALS 33 16 1 3 2 0 0 0 94

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