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North vs Central Bears - at Central Stadium Oct 12, 2012

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HUSKIES DOMINATE BEARS IN 23-8 VICTORY

The North Huskies closed out the 2012 regular season with a total domination of arch-rival Central in a 23-8 victory.  North scored 23 unanswered points and generated 22 first downs to just five for the Bears.

TOTAL DOMINATION OF A ‘PAPER LION’

To use the words ‘total domination’ infers a helpless opponent incapable of inflicting damage on their opponent.  That would be an apt description of the final 42 minutes of Friday night’s 56^th meeting between the North Huskies and the Central Bears.  Depending upon which rating service or poll was read, the Bears ranged anywhere from an 8 to an 18 point favorite when they entered the game.  Ranked #8 in 4A in Indiana, Central had a reputation for a first class running game and a ‘deep threat’ passing game.

By the time the contest was over, it was apparent to all who witnessed that the Bears had been nothing more than a ‘paper lion’ who had yet to face an opponent as physical as the 2012 Huskies.

TURNOVERS STOP HUSKIES EARLY

A first possession fumble by North gave Central a short field to work with.  Positioned at the 40 yard line, the Bears featured a no-huddle offense and ran the ball down the field against a defense that often failed to ‘set’ before the snap of the ball.  With 6:35 to go in the first quarter, Central took an 8-0 lead.

As the game would turn out, without North turnovers to generate field position, Central’s offense was “done” for the evening at that point.

FIRST OF ‘MANY’ LONG HUSKY DRIVES

North’s ability to execute against a ‘loose’ Bears defense became apparent on the ensuing possession.  Despite a ‘large’ defensive line in front of them, the Central linebacking corps was susceptible to fakes, options, and play-action passes all evening long.

Faced with 3^rd and 15 at the North 19 yard line, QB Max Mooney ran a play-action pass.  The center of the Bear defense ‘bit’ on the play-action and TE Drew Watters found himself open in the middle of the field.  Mooney’s pass was dead-on at the 42 yard line and Watters turned up field with no one around him.  The big senior made it to the Central 18 before the defense recovered.

The Huskies continued to drive to the goal line, but for the second time in the game, a Husky miscue stalled the drive.  This time, however, the miscue (a holding penalty) did not result in a turnover and North was able to remain in field goal distance.  Sophomore Zac Turi split the uprights on a 34 yard kick and the Huskies had their first three of 23 consecutive unanswered points.

SECOND QUARTER DOMINATION

North’s defense quickly adjusted to the ‘no huddle’ offense and senior Curran Davis exemplified the Husky response.  Normally a corner back, Davis had been shifted to linebacker when injuries left the Huskies thin at the position.  Davis’ lanky build and good football instincts proved invaluable on Friday night.

Where their first possession had caught North’s defense by surprise, adjustments by North had rendered the tactic futile.  A first down ‘pitch’ to Davis’ side found the senior already in position and he tackled the runner for a loss.  On second down, Central ran a ‘draw’ play and senior defensive tackle Antwan Ogburn read the play perfectly for a six yard loss.  On third down, the Bears tried a ‘screen’ pass—a play designed to use a hard rushing defense’s momentum against it—and Ogburn again read the play correctly and nearly sacked the quarterback.  At the last moment, the Bears’ passer got the ball away and it was Davis who was in position to intimidate the receiver into dropping the pass well behind the line of scrimmage.

The series would prove to be a sample of the remainder of the game for the Bears.

LONG DRIVE—NO POINTS

North took over at their 40 and Mooney used the option-fake to his best advantage.  He picked up 8 yards on second down and the Bears incurred a personal-foul penalty for a late shot on the Husky quarterback.  “Big” Mike Johnson deployed his patented ‘spin’ move on first contact at the line of scrimmage and added eight more yards to put the ball at the Bear 30.  Mooney ‘drew’ the Bears offsides with a hard count and North was at the 25.  Central’s defense stiffened, however, and the Husky drive stalled at the 20 yard line.

PAYNE AND WHITLER’S PASS DEFENSE

Central’s offense became nothing more than a series of long passes at that point and junior Austin Payne again proved his mettle.  Teamed with sophomore Chase Whitler at cornerback, both players would bear the brunt of the Central attack over the remainder of the game.  Eight times on the night, both Husky defenders would draw the burden of matching up against a bigger, physically gifted Central receiver on an all out sprint down the field and all eight times the Husky defensive backs would force incomplete passes.  Six times it would be Payne who would put himself between the receiver and the ball, twice it would be Whitler.

Their combined excellent play on this series forced a 3^rd down and 10 situation for Central and the Bears punter received a high snap from center.  Faced with a hard rush up the middle from North’s defense, the punter pulled the ball down and ran toward the Central sideline.  Finding an opening he turned up field and rambled 29 yards to the 46 yard line.

The busted play would prove to be Central’s “high point” of the evening—the lack of imagination on the part of the Bear play callers for the rest of the game would play right into Husky hands.

WATTERS TO THE RESCUE

There are certain players in Husky history who stand out above the others.  Their awareness of the game around them, their ability to translate team need into individual performance, and their dedication to execution set them apart.  Drew Watters has long been one such player for the Huskies.

During his career he has repeatedly shown himself to be the type of player who can put himself in exactly the correct spot at exactly the moment that North needs him to be there.

Friday night was again one of those nights.

On second and seven at the North 32, Central completed a pass over the middle and the Bear runner looked to be headed toward the end zone—a play that would give them at least a 12 point lead.  Austin Payne dove for the receiver, got a hand on the football, and stripped it free.  Watters reacted more quickly than two Bear offensive players who were closer to the ball than him and recovered the fumble.  It was another example of his ‘field awareness’ proving invaluable to the Huskies.

TWO MORE TURNOVERS

The second half wound down with the Huskies TWICE driving inside the Central 10 yard line only to turn the ball over.  When the team went to the locker room at half time trailing by a score of 8-3, it was with the firm knowledge that it could just as easily have been with North leading 17-8.

SECOND HALF

With the inspired play of both North cornerbacks in the second quarter thwarting the Central passing game, the Bears returned to the run to start the third quarter.  After generating a single first down—which would prove to be their ONLY first down of the second half—the Bears were stymied by the North front seven.  Curran Davis made a stop to hold a runner for a short gain on first down, Dylan Simmons nailed a run up the middle on second down, and the better part of the North defense ‘posed for a team picture’ in front of hapless Central Bear on third down and dropped him for a one yard loss.

OGBURN HELPS GENERATE A STEAMROLLER EFFECT

Antwan Ogburn had played only defense in the first half.  Normally a starter at left guard on offense, the big senior asked for playing time on offense in the second half.  His presence in the line was felt immediately.  He led the way on a Blake Howell sweep around end, he blasted the tackle on a Max Mooney option run around left end, and he opened a hole big enough to drive a truck through for ‘Big’ Mike Johnson at the 47.  Johnson made the most of it and carried the ball into Central territory for a first down at the 45.

Johnson would continue to ‘run down hill’ with four consecutive carries that moved the ball inside the Central 20.  Howell returned to the game to spell a ‘winded’ Johnson and when Mooney again rolled down the line to his left behind Ogburn, it was Howell who received a pitch from the quarterback.  The ball was tossed high yet Howell gathered it in and never broke stride as he turned the corner.  He drove his way to the one yard line before being brought down.

Two plays later, Mooney ran the option to the right side, faked the handoff to the dive back, and plowed into the end zone to give North its first lead in the game.  Turi’s extra point kick capped off a FIFTEEN play drive that steam rolled its way 70 yards and ate up six-and-a-half minutes of clock.

MORE POINTLESS LONG BOMBS

The Bears continued to test the Husky defensive backfield and North’s defense continued to answer the call.  Payne smothered a wide receiver on a fly pattern on first down and broke up a pass.  Mike Johnson forced a runner deep on a sweep to the left and Davis brought the runner down for a short gain.  Brock Underwood got a big rush on the quarterback on 3^rd and long and a pass went deep and over the head of both the defender and the receiver.

DU’VANTE LANE’S BIG NIGHT

Late in the second quarter North had been faced with fourth-and-one at their 34 yard line.  Going against accepted practices, Coach Wilson had chosen to ‘go for it’ rather than punt.  It’s probable that he made that decision in large part because of his faith in the skills of his fullback:  Du’vante Lane.

When he took the handoff out of the I formation in the second quarter, he had spurted through the line and not only picked up the first down, he rambled 52 yards to the Central 14 yard line.  On the next play, however, North had fumbled and turned the ball over.

Not so in the fourth quarter.

Lining up on 3^rd and one on the first play of the fourth quarter, Lane faced a line stacked to defeat him.  The Bears were bunched up in short yardage formation and desperate to end what looked like another long Husky drive.

It didn’t matter to Du’vante how many Bears were positioned on the line of scrimmage—on Friday night none of them were equal to the task of stopping Lane.  Busting into the center of the line behind a trap block by Ogburn, Simmons, and Dylan Powell, the fullback burst into the second line of Central’s defense.  Two Bears grabbed at his jersey to no effect.  Lane used a high knee action to break their grasp and then raced 30 more yards to the Central 13 yard line.

That play proved to be “the spirit killer” for Central.  The fire went out of the defense at that point and the Huskies pounded away at the demoralized defense.  Four plays later, Mooney tucked in behind Ogburn on a quarterback sneak and put North ahead 16-8.

AND STILL MORE LONG BOMBS

Having been manhandled on defense by consecutive long Husky drives, Central responded poorly.  Rather than trying to establish a ball-control offense that would allow their defense time to recover from the effects of having been on the field 80% of the time in the second half, they threw three more long passes.

To no effect.

And they ran just 23 seconds off the clock in the process.

Ogburn batted the first pass down at the line of scrimmage, Payne defended yet another fly pattern pass perfectly, and then Ogburn got a ferocious rush on the quarterback that hurried him into an overthrow on third down.  The possession was essentially a repetition of Central’s prior possession with exactly the same result.

MOONEY TAKES COMMAND

Very little opposition stood between North and its fifth North Side Trophy in the last six contests when they took over at their 28 with 8:34 to play.  Sure, there were eleven defenders on the other side of the ball, but the ‘fight’ had gone out of them with the pitiful showing that their offense had produced.

And Max Mooney sensed that it was time for ‘the kill’.

North relentlessly ran the option play to perfection as they drove their way down field.  Time and again Mooney read the defense perfectly on whether to hand the ball to the dive back, pitch to the trailing back, or keep it himself.  The frustrated defense took ‘cheap’ shots on the quarterback and he responded by being the first one on his feet after the whistle blew.

Mooney kept the ball himself twice on critical third downs at North 49 and then at the Central 38.  The latter of those two saw him take a particularly vicious blow at the end of the play, and still he bobbed right up and went to the huddle.

Eventually Central was called for three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties due to  their continued late hits.  None of them had an affect on Mooney—at least none that he allowed to show outwardly.

When the drive threatened to stall at the 35 yard line, the call came from the sideline to run “Cut Back” pass.  The play is a fixture of North’s offense and it was the right time to call the play.  The one side effect of the play, however, is that it involves the quarterback ranging to the left of the line of scrimmage on a naked bootleg.  It leaves the quarterback vulnerable to the pass rush.

Mooney rolled left.  A defender chased him.  Mooney 'drew a bead' downfield and let fly with the ball as he was hit.  The pass was delivered perfectly and Brock Underwood gathered it in for a 28 yard gain and a first down at the seven.

Mooney bounced back up as though the hit meant nothing.

Two plays later, he handed the ball off to Blake Howell and the tail back glided into the end zone for the game’s final score.

When the opportunity to ‘put the Bears away’ had presented itself to Mooney, he had stood tall in the face of a demoralized defense that was bent on hurting someone (as evidenced by the THREE unsportsmanlike conduct penalties) and rather than give in to the emotions of the moment, he had coolly led North to the final destruction of the Bears.

He proved yet again to be a leader the likes of which North hasn’t seen in years.

A FEEBLE RESPONSE

Central responded to the final North touchdown with more of the same.  Two long passes were defended by Whitler and Payne, respectively, and Watters read a screen pass perfectly on third down and held the receiver to a short gain.  On fourth and five, Central attempted one last pass in Payne’s direction and for the 8^th time on the evening, the ball fell incomplete.

NORTH’S FINEST HOUR

As mentioned earlier, Central entered this game at least a two touchdown favorite.  Their players resorted to nastiness on the field the likes of which North had not been confronted with all season long--and the Huskies prevailed.

An excellent game plan by the North Coaching Staff resulted in a time of possession advantage of 33:45 to just 14:15 for the Bears.  North gained 22 first downs to just five for Central.

It was total domination of an opponent most experts thought to be more talented and deeper than the Huskies.

In the end, it was the character of players like Mooney, Watters, Lane, Johnson, Ogburn, Payne, Whitler, Underwood, Davis, and a slew of others that told the story.

Point spreads ratings systems don’t take “heart” into account. ‘Husky Hearts’ were worth at least 20 points on Friday night at Central Stadium.

It was, by far, the 2012 Huskies’ finest hour.

www.nhsrecords.com has enjoyed putting together another season of North game summaries.  If you have enjoyed reading them, we would like to hear from you!  Email us at WEBMASTER

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