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North vs Paoli Rams - at Bundrant Stadium Oct 5, 2012

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Game Recap

2nd QUARTER BURST PUSHES HUSKIES TO 23-6 WIN OVER PAOLI

The North Huskies defeated the Paoli Rams 23-6 last Friday night in a game that, for a while, was closer than the score would indicate.  The Rams entered Bundrant Stadium 6-1 with a 30 point average margin of victory and a 2A State Ranking and for two periods they appeared up to the task of playing ‘even’ with the Huskies.  The two teams were similar in size and quantities of players, Paoli had beaten a pair of 3A schools soundly during the season, their skill players were both fast and big, and the game was to be played in a nasty bit of weather.

Rain storms blew through Evansville’s north side just prior to game time and the winds howled throughout the contest.  “Senior Night” recognition and festivities were conducted in a down pour and the drizzle lasted well into the third quarter.  All those factors combined to cloud some of North’s inherent advantages in the contest.

FIRST QUARTER

Both defenses forced punts on their initial appearances, but Paoli’s punt was benefited by a gusty tail wind and flew 68 yards to the north end zone for a touchback.  With the rain having subsided to nothing more than a drizzle, the Husky offense began to find its footing.  Five running plays moved the chains twice and North had a first down at the 43.  A draw lost a yard and then a heavy pass rush forced QB Max Mooney to check down for a gain of just a yard on second down.  Facing third and long, Mooney dropped back to pass on a screen play.

Screen plays are designed to let the defense penetrate quickly.  The quarterback then dumps the ball to a back waiting in the area just vacated by the defenders.  If everything works well, the back has room to run and a team can make up big yardage.  This time, however, the back dropped the pass and it appeared to set up fourth down.

One defender, however, had chosen to continue to pursue Mooney after he ‘dumped’ off the pass and aggressively slammed the quarterback to the ground.  A penalty ensued and kept the North drive alive.  The Huskies returned to the ground game and slammed six more running plays into the heart of the Ram defense.

BETTER TO BE ‘LUCKY’ THAN ‘GOOD’

North ran off sixteen plays in the drive and eight minutes off the clock.  The game moved into the second quarter before the drive finally ‘stalled’.  On third and five a receiver dropped an apparent touchdown pass and the change of quarters had now placed the gusting winds at the ‘back’ of North’s kicker.  The Huskies sent out Zac Turi to attempt a 31 yard field goal.

Unfortunately, or fortunately as it turned out, the snap was low (most likely owing to the wet conditions) and Mooney, serving as the holder, was forced to ‘give up’ on the field goal attempt.  He grabbed the ball, rolled out of his stance, and made his way to his right as the Paoli rush surrounded him.  With three defenders clinging to him, he had one fleeting second to arc the ball in the general direction of full back Du’vante Lane at the ten yard line before falling under the pressure of the defenders.

Lane plucked the ‘lame duck’ throw out of the air and spun immediately toward the goal line.  He collided with two would-be tacklers at the six yard line and spun again.  Breaking their grasp, he raced into the end zone for North’s first score of the evening.  A healthy dose of ‘luck’ was required, but disaster had quickly been turned into success. 

Not wanting to risk another long snap in the conditions, North went for two points with a running play and was denied the end zone.  The Huskies led 6-0 with 11:06 to play.

THE GROUND GAME GETS GOING

After defensive tackle Dylan Simmons nearly ‘took’ the handoff away from the Paoli quarterback on first down, the defense stymied the Rams and forced another punt.  Facing the wind this time, the Paoli punter left the ball at midfield for the Husky offense.

On second and ten, Mooney ran a play-action pass over the middle and he hit TE Drew Watters with a pass at the 40 yard line.  The agile senior tucked the ball in and raced to the 29 before being brought down.  The offensive line then began to take over the ball game.

Running a ‘mid-line’ offense, North ran the ball ‘up the gut’ on five straight running plays .  “Big” Mike Johnson lowered the boom on a linebacker and made his way to the 16 on a counter play that gained 11 yards.  Lane picked up three on a dive play before Johnson added another eight on a trap play.  With first and goal at the five, Lane then drove straight thru the heart of the defense for the touchdown.

Paoli’s nose-tackle was big and agile.  In prior game films, he appeared to be a dominant force inside—disrupting opponent offenses.  On this night, however, Dylan Simmons ‘owned’ the center of the field on offense.  He controlled the nose-tackle all evening long and by stopping his penetration, he allowed guards Antwan Ogburn and Dylan Powell to get out ‘ahead’ of North ball carriers and clear the way.  Against a tough defender, Simmons had his best offensive game of the season.

Up 12-0, North again ‘went for two’ and the Huskies were successful when Mooney lobbed a high arcing ball into the right hand side of the end zone that Lane ran underneath for the conversion.  North led 14-0 with 5:28 to play in the half.

HERE COME THE RAMS

For the first time in the game, Paoli lined up in the ‘I’ formation and it appeared to give North some early difficulties.  Where the defense had forced punts in each of the first two possessions lined up against Paoli’s traditional ‘double wing’ offense, the Ram fullback picked up 12 yards for a first down on a straight forward off tackle run.

At the 40 yard line, the Ram quarterback faked a reverse handoff to the flanker as he came in motion and then whirled to his right and took off for the end of the line.  Blessed with 4.4 forty yard dash speed, he made it to the corner and turned up field in front of his own sideline.  No North defender could catch him and he dashed 60 yards for the score.  Facing into the wind, Paoli chose to go for two and they were unsuccessful when their receiver dropped an open pass.  Paoli trailed just 14-6 with 4:01 to play in the half.

USING THE WIND

Knowing full well that the wind was a factor in the game, the Huskies went up top on second down with the play-action pass to the tight end that Mooney and Watters had run for success earlier.

It succeeded again, but now without worries.  Watters again caught the ball 15 yards downfield but appeared to have the ball stripped from his as he went down.  A ‘scrum’ followed in which both teams appeared to alternately gain and lose the ball.  Finally a Ram defender came up with the ball at their five yard line.

The referees, however, had whistled the play ‘dead’ when Watters hit the ground at the Paoli 30 yard line and North again had the ball in great field position.  Returning to their ‘mid-line’ offense, they ran both the ball and the clock down.    A fumbled snap—again, owing to the persistent rain—brought up second and long at the 20.  A fierce rush stopped a run for no gain on second down.  Mooney was nearly sacked on third down and barely managed to get rid of the ball before being tackled.

Turi trotted out to attempt a 37 yard field goal with under a minute before half and this time, the snap and hold were picture perfect.  So was his kick and North went into the locker room ahead 17-6.

SECOND HALF

Half time seemed to bring out the best in the Rams.  Running out of a ‘pistol’ formation similar to what North prefers, seven consecutive running plays took them all the way to the 32 yard line.  Deceptive fakes, traps, and counters were causing difficulties for the North front seven.

And then the defense appeared to recognize the offense for what it was.  Those opening seven plays would mark the ‘high tide’ mark for Paoli’s chances on the night.  From that point forward, the defensive front seven would wreak havoc on the Ram backfield and yield just 22 more yards in total offense for the remainder of the game.

On first down, Simmons and DE Bruce Crider combined to produce a three yard loss by nearly taking the handoff and then taking down the hapless fullback.  Johnson got a ‘rush’ on the quarterback on second down and forced him to check down on a pass play for a very short gain.  Antwan Ogburn wrapped up a runner for no gain on third down and the big senior tackle then deflected a pass on fourth down and the Huskies took over on downs at their 31 yard line.

THE DEFENSE MAN HANDLES PAOLI

Johnson ran for 14 yards on first down straight up the middle and Blake Howell, returning to the lineup after an ankle sprain forced him to miss the previous game, had his longest run of the evening on a 13 yard gain to  the Paoli 39.  The drive stalled, however, following a second down sack of Mooney and a dropped pass by a receiver on third down.

A Chase Whitler punt inside the Paoli 10 yard line set up horrible field condition for the Rams and the defensive front seven again ‘went to work’ on the visiting offense.  Ogburn dragged down a runner from behind on first down.  Linebacker Drew Watters tripped up a runner after a decent gain to set up third and short.  The visibly ‘tiring’ quarterback did manage to surge forward ‘just enough’ to gain a first down at the 19 but then Du’vante Lane began to ‘close the door’ on the offense.

On first down, Lane flew through the line and chased down the fleet footed quarterback from behind for a loss.  On second down, Paoli completed a screen pass and Lane again flew to the ball.  This time he blasted his way between two defenders and tackled the receiver for a loss on what had appeared to be a certain gain.  That set up a third-and-VERY-long situation that Paoli was not able to convert.

For all intents and purposes, the game was settled for good at that point.

FOURTH QUARTER

The Huskies started the fourth quarter with a Chase Whitler punt return to the 50 yard line.  Junior Maalik Butler carried the ball to the 41 on a sweep and then Whitler picked up 11 yards on an end around.  The Ram defenders were feeling the effects of a long bus ride and a rainy, damp night against an opponent that they could not overpower.

Ogburn, Simmons, and Powell again hammered open a hole into the center of the defense of 1^st and 10 at the 30 yard line and Lane, enjoying his best all-round game of the season, dashed into the void.  Having already made his mark on the game with sensational blocking, pass catching, and defense, on this play he would display his speed of foot.  He rammed into the hole afforded him and emerged from a pack of defenders at the 20 yard line.  He immediately cut to his left and then outraced two Rams for the end zone to finish off a 30 yard touchdown run.  Another low snap on the extra point probably ruined the kick’s chances at success and the ball came up short of the uprights.  Regardless, North had their final margin of victory, 23-6 with 10:19 to play.

ON TO CENTRAL

North effectively ran out the clock the next time they touched the ball by driving to the Paoli 10 on a dozen running plays that chewed up over eight minutes of playing time.  The Huskies now head to Central Stadium for a show down with their arch-rival.  Visiting ‘the old home confines’ after a season in Bundrant Stadium should feel familiar to the green-and-white and eat into any home-field advantage that the Bears might think they have.

The Huskies may be returning to form and getting players back from injury at the perfect moment to pull of another upset in the North Side Trophy Game.

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