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North vs Memorial Tigers - at Bundrant Stadium Aug 31, 2012

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Game Recap

HUSKIES TOPPLE TIGERS BY ONE POINT FOR SECOND SEASON IN A ROW

North pulled out a narrow 21-20 victory over the Memorial Tigers Friday night.  In front of a packed house on hand for the official dedication of Bundrant Stadium, the Huskies engaged in another ‘barn burner’ that left the outcome in doubt until the game’s final minute.   Sophomore Chase Whitler and senior Drew Watters provided the game-changing moments that secured the victory.

With yet another 5,000 in attendance to witness the dedication ceremonies, the Huskies played far from their best football of the season.  Three first half turnovers (four in total) and a dozen penalties for nearly 100 yards betrayed the confidence that multiple explosive plays should have given the Green and White, but in the end the quiet confidence displayed by team captain Watters and the sensational athletic ability of Whitler overcame the miscues.

The mayor of Evansville, the school corporation superintendent, the school board president, and North’s principal all spoke before the game and dedicated the facility in the name of North Alumnus (class of ’59) Chuck Bundrant. 

HOWELL’S BIG OPENING

Senior Blake Howell exploded around left end on North’s first play from scrimmage.  Running through “the five hole” behind tackle Damion Boatman, Howell bounced quickly to the outside and raced 60 yards down the Memorial sideline for a touchdown. 

The fleet footed senior is no stranger to success against the Tigers.  As a sophomore, he carried the ball 10 times for 91 yards and a touchdown.  As a junior, he ran wild for a career high 239 yards on just 20 attempts.  In that game, he had a 74 yard score early in the contest and then scored the game winning touchdown with 1:43 to play.  As a senior he would run for 235 yards and a pair of scores making his career totals in three games against Memorial:  45 attempts for 565 yards (a 12.6 yard per carry average) and five touchdowns.

MEMORIAL ANSWERS

The Tigers are a tenacious football team.  Trailing 7-0, they strung together an 18 play 80 yard drive without dominating the line of scrimmage or having great success through the air.  North aided them greatly on the series by committing a personal foul on a key third down and eight as well as by jumping off sides on fourth and four at the Husky 37.  Taking advantage of those two critical miscues, Memorial drove to the 11 yard line before settling for a field goal with 0:51 to play in the quarter.

North then fumbled on the last play of the half and gave the Tigers the ball back on the Husky 37.

SECOND QUARTER

Initially, it appeared that the Huskies would hold.  Watters and “Big” Mike Johnson stopped a runner for no gain on second and ten, then senior Atnwan Ogburn scored North’s first quarterback sack of the evening on third down.  Facing fourth and 13 at the North 40, the Tigers waived off the punter and decided to try and pick up the first down.

With a three year starter at quarterback, the Tigers’ passing game has the potential to make big plays and they made one on fourth down.

A receiver flashed open on a post pattern and the ball hit the target for a 25 yard gain and a first down at the Husky 15.  The Tigers then “guessed” correctly and ran a draw play into the face of a ‘blitz’ by the North linebackers and attained first-and-goal-to-go from the two.  Two plays later, they scored on a dive play and led 10-7.

North penalties had ‘sustained’ the first Memorial drive and the turnover had led to a short field for the second Tiger score.  With 8:24 to play in the half, the Tigers had run THIRTY-THREE offensive plays from scrimmage.  North, at that point, had run just three.

LIGHTNING STRIKES AGAIN—IN “BOTH” WAYS!

Howell did his best to make up for the early turnover on North’s first play of the ensuing drive.  Again running to his left—this time on a sweep—the senior running back got outside the end, out raced a linebacker to the sideline, and then picked up a block from Brock Underwood that enabled him to take off on a 42 yard jaunt to the Memorial 38 yard line.

Three plays yielded a first down at the Tiger 27 and quarterback Max Mooney rolled to his right looking to pass.  A Memorial defender caught up with him from his “blind” side, stripped the ball, and North had committed its second turnover of the first half.

FINALLY A BREAK FOR ‘OUR’ GUYS

An offensive holding call quickly ended any chances that the Tigers had of moving the ball out of their territory and the North defense broke up a screen pass on 3^rd and 16.  Memorial’s punter trotted out to try and boot the ball into North territory.

A poor snap from center caused the Tiger punter to rush his kick and the ball caromed off his foot sideways and bounced  shortly beyond the line of scrimmage.  It took of couple more “Memorial-bounces” and was quickly downed at the Tiger 36 yard line.  The 16 yard punt was just the “gift” that the home team was looking for.

“Big” MIKE AND DU’VANTE MAKES IT LOOK EASY

North continued to do more damage to itself than their opponent when they were whistled for offensive holding on second down.  Looking at second down and 24 yards to go for a first down from midfield, it seemed that North might squander the opportunity that the short punt had afforded.

Enter “Big” Mike Johnson.

Taking a handoff off tackle to his right, the big senior tailback was hit at the line of scrimmage by a Memorial defender.  Johnson quickly spun counter-clockwise out of the defender’s grasp and continued his run.  A second defender appeared 5 yards beyond the line and “Big” Mike earned his nickname yet again.

He lowered his left shoulder to accept the defender’s blow and then spun counter-clockwise yet again to break the grasp.  Now outside the hash marks, he barreled to the 35 yard line before being brought down by a trio of Tigers.

The run had set up a very manageable third down and nine.

Mooney rolled to his left on a naked bootleg play and avoided the grasp of a would-be tackler just long enough to connect with fullback Du’vante Lane a couple yards past the line of scrimmage.  Lane twisted free of the first defender to reach him and found himself open in a seam in the middle of the field.  He ran over another would-be tackler at the 20 before being brought down at the 10 to set up first-and-goal.

Blake Howell continued the theme of “busting up” the defense when he ran over a defender on his way to the end zone on first down to give North a 14-10 lead.

MEMORIAL SHOWS SOME ZIP

The North celebration was short lived, however.  The Memorial quarterback reminded everyone as to why he is universally feared by city defenses on second and 7 from his 30 yard line.  Splitting their tight end into a slot position, the 6’4” receiver ran a corner route to the right and was able to go up and get a high throw.  The North defender was much smaller and unable to contest the reception.

The big receiver then shrugged off North’s safety and made a bee-line to the end zone.  He broke one more tackle at the twenty yard line before running in with a 70 yard touchdown reception.  In less than a minute of play, the Tigers had regained the lead 17-14 with 2:11 remaining in the first half.

INSULT TO INJURY

Following a false start penalty on first down of the ensuing drive, North turned the ball over again.  This time a pass intended for Howell from Mooney was picked off at the Memorial 44 yard line.

The Tigers completed a quick pass on first down for 16 yards and the Husky faithful were holding their breath and hoping for the clock to run out on the half.  When the Huskies were whistled for encroachment on the next play to set up first-and-five, the worries grew precipitously.

It fell to senior captain and middle linebacker Drew Watters to ‘right the ship’.  Dropping back into coverage, he stepped in front of a pass at the North 20 yard line and intercepted the ball.  Returning the ball to midfield, he gave the Huskies an opportunity to put points on the board before the half.

Unfortunately, but fittingly the way the first half was played, a North personal foul at the Memorial 24 yard line ended that threat.

SECOND HALF

The Huskies got yet another thrill-and-a-chill from Howell on the first possession of the second half.  On North’s first play from scrimmage, with Memorial trying to strip the ball rather than tackle the running back, he burst into the secondary and rambled to the Memorial 24.  On the first play of the first quarter, Howell went 60 yards.  On the first play of the second quarter, Howell went 42 yards.  And on the first play of the third quarter, he had gone 57 yards.

Four plays later, North turned the ball over with a fumble at the eight yard line.

MEMORIAL MARCHES DOWNFIELD

Starting from their eight, Memorial began a methodical 15 play, eight minute drive.  The effects of the humidity and the battering ram style of play began to take a toll on the North defense.  Tackle Teddy Wilbourn came to the sideline with leg cramps.  Watters was visibly ill when Memorial reached midfield and had to leave the game. 

North contributed to its difficulties with yet another encroachment penalty on third and short at the 50.  A pair of screen passes carried them to the Husky 12 before “Big” Mike provided a huge lift with a 10 yard sack of the quarterback.  Memorial was forced to settle for a field goal and for all their effort, had just a six point lead at 20-14. 

THE WORM TURNS—MEMORIAL MISCUES

With the wind to his back, Memorial’s kicker buried the ball in the back of the end zone on the kickoff and North was forced to start from their 20 yard line.  When the Huskies lost a yard on first down, the Tiger stands were beginning to sense an upset in the making.  Everything was going Memorial’s way and had been for the better part of a quarter.

A trap play into the middle of the line put the ball back in Du’Vante Lane’s hands.  The powerful fullback dashed through a hole opened by center Dylan Simmons and he fired up the jets.  He burst into the Tiger secondary and only a desperate grasp of the face mask kept him from going for a touchdown.  Instead he was tackled after a 20 yard gain and the officials tacked on another five yards for the penalty.

On the following play, Howell started to his right on a sweep only to find the way blocked by a flood of Tiger defenders.  Ever nimble on his feet, the senior reversed his field and made his way toward left end.  He picked up a block each from Boatman and Whitler and turned up field.  He was still struggling for yards when another Tiger defender committed a much more flagrant face mask violation.  Howell picked up 22 and the penalty added another 15.

“Big” Mike entered the backfield to give Howell a ‘breather’ and he promptly ran over three defenders on his way to the four yard line.  Lane got the call from there and he ran behind Dylan Powell and Logan Mullen all the way to the end zone.  When kicker Zac Turi split the uprights, North had what would be the final score of the game 21-20 as the third quarter expired.

FOURTH QUARTER

The game was far from over.  Memorial launched another clock-eating, 15 play drive that brought them perilously close to the North end zone.  When cornerback Justin Lockett went down with an injury on second and nine at the 34, the Memorial quarterback wasted no time in throwing right back into that zone of third down—hoping to catch North in a state of confusion.   A 37 yard gain ensued and North was back on its heels at the 29 yard line with 9:35 to play.

Where the Tigers had had the wind to their back in the third quarter, the remnants of Hurricane Isaac were now blowing in their face in the fourth quarter.  As such, when the North defense stiffened and brought up fourth down and five at the 24 yard line, the Tigers never contemplated kicking the ball.

Would that they had, because a ‘Notre Dame’ screen play picked up just two more inches than the Tigers needed for a first down ad the Husky 19.

FOUR BIG PLAYS FOR THE HUSKIES

Lockett re-entered the game and saved a touchdown on the next play.  A Tiger runner broke through the center of the line and angled for the flag.  The fast junior cornerback ‘played the angle’ and managed to bring the runner down at the four.

On first and goal, “Big” Mike blew around end and tossed a Tiger runner for a one yard loss.  On second and goal, Howell grabbed a runner from his linebacker position and wrestled him down at the two.

On third down, Teddy Wilbourn (recovered from his 3^rd quarter leg cramps) bowled over the lineman in front of him and grabbed the quarterback as he struggled to come to grips with a poor snap in the shotgun formation.  Wilbourn stripped the ball away and grabbed the fumble at the 8 yard line.

North’s defense had made its FIRST stand of the final period.  There would be more to come.

THE HUSKY OFFENSE COMES NEAR TO ‘IMPLODING’

Everything looked like it might work out well for North when Lane ran off left tackle for 17 yards on first down.  The offense had “breathing” room and a first down at the 25.

A first down off-sides penalty pushed the ball back to the twenty.

A second down offensive holding penalty pushed the ball back to the 14.

A subsequent second down block-in-the-back penalty pushed the ball back to the nine.

A third down quarterback sack brought up fourth and 25 from the ten.

And then the punt traveled just six yards to the North 16.

WHITLER ANSWERS THE CALL “AGAIN”

Dame Fortune can be fickle.  Last week, it appeared that Lady Luck would smile and remember Chase Whitler’s twisting catch in the southwest corner of the end zone as the play that would carry the day for the Huskies.  Subsequent lapses by the defensive secondary cost Whitler that chance at glory.

This night, however, good fortune, Hurricane Isaac’s winds, and Whitler’s great sense for the ball all were running in North’s favor.

With their starting quarterback on the sidelines, Memorial was sixteen yards from certain victory with 3:53 to play.  A short pass gained the Tigers a yard and set up second and nine at the fifteen.

In the shotgun formation, Memorial had their big tight end split wide to the right.  The towering receiver was matched up with Whitler—who at 5’8” was giving up close to eight inches in height.  The end ran a corner rout and was inside of Whitler when the ball went into the air. 

The quarterback had put a little too much loft on the ball and overthrew the receiver.  The winds, however, held the ball up just enough for Whitler to have time to leap and twist in mid-air—exactly the same way and in the same spot that he had done so in order to catch a touchdown pass last Friday.  This time, the talented sophomore came down with a game-saving interception rather than a potentially game winning touchdown.

WHITLER FINISHES THE SHOW—WITH HIS FOOT

The Huskies did their best to run out the clock by pounding the ball into the middle of the line.  The ball rested at the 42 yard line when the drive stalled and there were still 58 seconds remaining on the clock.  Faced with fourth and nine and knowing that the last punt had traveled barely six yards, North sent Whitler out to punt for the first time this season.

Receiving a good snap from center, the sophomore gracefully booted the ball high into the air.  It spiraled to its peak, nosed over, and came down inside the Memorial 30.  Because the kick had been so high it had given the Husky coverage team time to get downfield and there was no return.  The ball was blown dead at the 22 yard line.

WATTERS SEALS THE TIGERS’ FATE

After a first down completion picked up 8 yards, Wilbourn recorded North’s third quarterback of the sack of the evening on second down.  The Tigers spiked the ball to stop the clock on third down and it set up a fourth down all-or-nothing for Memorial.

With an empty backfield and good blocking, the quarterback had plenty of options to choose from as he surveyed the field ahead of him.  He chose one in the center of the field and let fly with the football.

From his middle linebacker position, Drew Watters tracked the flight of the ball and came up with his second interception of the night near midfield (to go with a career high 15 tackles).  He took a few furtive steps toward the Memorial end zone and then realized that if he just went down with the ball, the game would be effectively over. 

He did so and on a night when North was far from its ‘best’, the Huskies had found a way to win.

IRON OUT THE KINKS AND MOVE ON

Any game that results in a “W” is a good one.  The Huskies won a game in which they committed twelve penalties for nearly a hundred yards and turned the ball over four times.

The offense was explosive and the defense made opportune and timely big plays.

The team must accept those positive notes and move on to the next game.  Playing their first game on the road this season, the Huskies now have momentum moving their way and the young secondary has 12 quarters of experience under their respective belts.

The toughest part of the schedule is yet to come.  The Huskies are getting better at the “Big” things.  The “Little” things can be ironed out in practice this week.

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