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North Huskies vs Terre Haute South Braves- at Bundrant Stadium Aug 23 2013

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Game Recap

TRADITION CONTINUES AS ERA BEGINS IN 37-20 VICTORY OVER BRAVES

One long time tradition continued at Bundrant Stadium Friday night and a new era began in North’s 37-20 victory over Terre Haute South.  For the seventeenth season in a row, the Huskies opened the season with a win and, for the first time in 25 years, the Huskies had a new head coach on the sidelines.

Coach Bret Szabo made all the right calls in a victory that saw his club jump out to a 24-0 second quarter lead and then have to re-find its form in the fourth quarter.  The heat played a factor in the outcome with multiple North players falling prey to painful muscle cramps in the third quarter and for a while it appeared that the early lead might vanish.

SLOW START

It took both teams a couple possessions to establish a rhythm.  Despite senior Justin Lockett’s fumble recovery near midfield barely two minutes into the game, North still found itself in a punting situation.  It was on that punt, however, that one particular aspect of the game began to manifest itself.

After rolling out of bounds at the 20 without a return, a penalty flag indicated that the Braves had been penalized for holding on the play.  It was the first of nine penalties that the visitors would be whistled for on the night and this one caused the ball to be set at their 10 yard line.

WARGEL ON FIRE

North quickly capitalized on South’s poor field position and it was middle linebacker Ryan Wargel who made the Braves pay.  On second down, with South lined up in a unique “Pistol Bone” formation, Wargel pursued a running back down the line and dropped the runner for a one yard loss.

The “Pistol Bone” features a quarterback in an upright ‘shotgun’ position approximately four yards behind the center.  The quarterback is flanked on either side by a running back and has a third running back lined up a couple yards behind him.

When the Braves faced third down and nine at the 11 yard line, the offense shifted out of the Pistol Bone and this signaled a pass play to the defense.  Wargel blitzed from his linebacker position and sacked the quarterback for a nine yard loss.  Punting from their two yard line and despite a good roll, the Braves surrendered the ball at the Terre Haute 45 yard line. 

NORTH’S FIRST SCORE

The North offense features a newcomer at quarterback in Jesse Millikan; however, Millikan is no stranger to playing quarterback.  For the last two seasons, Millikan has been the starting quarterback for the Bedford North Lawrence (BNL) Stars.  In his tenure there, he has thrown for over 2,700 yards passing and 27 touchdowns.  Tonight, though, it was his legs that, more often than not, the Huskies made best use of.

North looks to utilize a “spread” offense about 70% of the time.  By virtue of having four receivers split wide, no full back, and no tight end, the quarterback must be a threat to run the ball.  Millikan has that ability in addition to an accurate passing arm.  He ran for over 800 yards at BNL and can take a hit when one is delivered by the defense.

On second down at the 44 yard line, Millikan kept the ball himself, ran into the center of the defense, emerged on the other side and dashed 30 yards to the 14 yard line.  That play seemed to spark life into the North offense and over the course of the next six minutes of game action, the Huskies rolled up 17 points.

Two plays later, with Millikan back in the ‘spread’, he handed the ball off to Maalik Butler on an apparent sweep around right end.  Butler, however, handed the ball off to junior Chase Whitler who was running in the opposite direction and Whitler sprinted to the flag in the end zone for North’s first score of the evening.  Zac Turi split the uprights on the extra point and the Huskies led 7-0.

WHITLER ON DISPLAY

Whitler led North in receiving yardage in 2012.  While the Huskies were predominantly a running team last season, Whitler’s skill as a receiver was on display with 5 touchdowns on just 13 receptions for 243 yards in 2012.

On opening night, he came near to equaling some of those numbers.

The next time the Huskies got the ball, the fleet footed junior lined up in a slot position to the right with North in a spread formation.   Drawing one-on-one coverage, Whitler caught a slant pass from Millikan about seven yards downfield and was then in a footrace with the defender.

Whitler won the foot race.

Only a “horse collar” tackle by a defender playing the angle prevented Whitler from recording his second touchdown of the evening.  The ensuing penalty placed the ball at the 10 yard line and was promptly followed by an encroachment penalty on the defense.  Despite having first and goal from the five, North had to settle for a field goal opportunity.

TURI TIES FIELD GOAL RECORD

Zac Turi returned for his first field goal attempt of the season.  Having kicked for the Huskies since his freshman season, Turi is no stranger to pressure kicks.  He once beat Memorial with a final minute “clutch” field goal in the midst of a driving rain storm.

A 25 yard kick on a warm, sunny evening proved to be nothing more than a chip shot as Turi connected for his fifth career field goal and tied him for the North all-time field goal record.  The Huskies led 10-0

The defense continued to stymie the “Pistol Bone” and Terre Haute was forced to punt the ball away.

MILLIKAN-TO-WHITLER: A DEADLY COMBINATION

On North’s first play following the punt, the Huskies were again lined up in the spread formation with Whitler split wide to the right.  On the snap, the junior took off on a straight ‘fly’ route down the sideline.  North’s offensive line seems to have gelled in the week since the Jasper scrimmage and the defensive pass rush was held at bay.

With junior Riley Draper at left tackle, sophomore Bryce Brown at left guard, junior Buddy Waelde at center, senior Dylan Powell at right guard, and junior Cody Smith at right tackle, the line averages 243 lbs. and figures to be a strength of the Huskies for the next two seasons.

Tonight, the unit gave Millikan plenty of time to put his passing skills to good use. 

Millikan sensed that he had sufficient time to fake the defender off of Whitler.  The senior quarterback executed a perfectly timed ‘pump fake’ and the corner back hesitated for a moment—just long enough for Whitler to put some distance between himself and the defender.

Millikan then delivered a perfect pass nearly 40 yards downfield that Whitler caught in stride and he raced the final 20 yards to the end zone untouched.  After Turi’s kick, the Huskies led 17-0.

MORE SOUTH MISCUES LEAD TO NORTH 24-0 LEAD

A 15 yard holding penalty on second down for Terre Haute killed their chances for a drive and a 23 yard punt gave North excellent field position at the Brave 36 yard line.  The Huskies moved steadily downfield and Millikan carried the ball on three of the drive’s final four plays.  Lining up in an offset ‘I’ formation at the seven, Millikan faked a handoff to the dive back and then ran around right tackle for a seven yard touchdown.

Turi’s kick made it 24-0 Huskies with just 2:26 to play in the half.  It appeared that a rout was on and the Husky faithful were enjoying the warm weather, the clear skies, and the rapid scoring.

Then reality hit home.

BRAVES SHOW SOME LIGHTNING

The reality of the matter is that North was also playing its first game and has some ‘growing up’ to do.  On the ensuing kickoff, the Huskies coverage team let the return man get outside and despite a deep kick to the goal line, the Braves returned the ball out near midfield.

The “Pistol Bone” formation of Terre Haute finally took hold and in three running plays, the Braves had a first down at the North 29.  With one-on-one coverage on the outside, North’s safeties got caught watching all the play-action ‘fake’ handoffs in the backfield, and a receiver streaked into the undefended center of the field on a post pattern and caught an easy touchdown pass.

A bad snap on third down on North’s ensuing possession resulted in a 4^th and 24 situation at the Husky 22 yard line.  North’s punt went out of bounds at the North 44 and the Braves had the ball and 44 seconds on the clock before the half.

LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE

When yet another holding penalty brought about a third-and-nineteen at the Brave 47, few thought they were a threat to score their second touchdown in a minute of play.  Lining up in a shotgun formation, the Braves intentionally let the defense pour through and the quarterback hit his tailback with a screen pass well behind the 50 yard line.

North defenders missed opportunities to tackle the runner at the 45 yard line, the 38, the 25, and the 15.  Despite four chances to stop the play (and cause the clock to run out), the Braves had their second touchdown in just one minute of play.  North’s 24 point lead had slipped to eleven at the half.

SECOND HALF

To make matters worse, North was forced to kick off from its 25 yard line to start the second half due to a dead ball penalty.  Terre Haute returned the kick to their 40 and they looked to be running ‘downhill’ against the Huskies. 

A bad snap on first down and a ferocious hit by Whitler for a loss on second down brought about a third-and-twenty from the Terre Haute 30.  With the Braves in the Pistol Bone formation, they managed to isolate a receiver in one-on-one coverage on the outside.  The Husky defender got fooled by an underthrown pass that the receiver stopped nearly in his tracks to catch and suddenly South was back in North territory and threatening to score again.

Only the inaccuracy of South’s quarterback and the inability of their wide receivers to hang onto the ball prevented the Braves from finding the end zone.  Three consecutive pass plays fell incomplete and North took over on downs at the 33.

LEG CRAMPS TAKE A TOLL

Perhaps part what occurred can be blamed on the hot weather.  Over the course of the next five minutes of play, no fewer than five Husky players were to be seen on the sideline being administered to for leg cramps.  When the Huskies took over on offense, Millikan was notably short a number of starting offensive players with which to attack the defense.

Regardless, the senior quarterback found the means to make the best of everyone’s skills and put together a drive of sorts. With Whitler and Butler down on the sidelines, Millikan carried the ball out to the 38 to set up third and five.  He then delivered a shovel pass to senior Mason Jenkins for a six yard gain and a first town at the 44.

The clock continued to run and the trainers were now administering to Waelde on the sidelines.  A couple of running plays only yielded a yard, but a Millikan to Lockett screen pass took the ball past midfield to set up a crucial “fourth-and-inches”.

THE BIGGEST PLAY(S) OF THE NIGHT

Some night’s “Big Plays” are measured in multiples of dozens of yards.  Certainly Whitler’s second quarter 62 yard lightning strike was a big play on this night. 

But sometimes, the biggest plays in a ball game are measured in dozens of inches—and Friday night was one of those nights.

With players cramping and the Brave offense having apparently “solved” the Husky defense during the last few possessions, North was badly in need of another first down in order to give the cramping players time to recover and to keep the Terre Haute offense off the field.  On fourth-and-inches, the Huskies lined up in a double-slot, four wide formation with a single back in the backfield and Millikan under center. 

Coach Szabo apparently did not like his odds against the defensive set and called time out.

When they came back out, the Huskies were lined up in an offset ‘I’ formation with junior Marcus Northington at fullback.  He took the handoff and drove straight into the line but found his way blocked.  He felt his way to his left and came into a spot in the defense where big Bryce Brown had driven back his man.  Bulling his way in behind the sophomore, Northington dove forward for the necessary “inches” that it took to sustain the drive.

North had another first down and bought precious time for its players to recover.

A MATTER OF AN INCH

Football is often referred to as a game of inches.  When the Husky drive stalled at the Brave 42, it was Whitler (having recuperated from his leg cramps) and senior Austin Payne who once again proved the old adage. 

Punting from near midfield, Whitler’s perfect kick dropped to the ground at the 12 yard line and it was Payne who was down field on coverage to put the finishing touches on a masterpiece.  He allowed the ball to carom to the one-inch line before cradling it to his chest and downing the ball.

Had the Braves “Not” been facing a 99 yard field ahead of them, they might have threatened the Huskies for another score.  On a night when they seemed to be their own worst enemy, Terre Haute committed two 15 yard penalties on the ensuing drive and they stalled out at the 41 yard line.

FOURTH QUARTER

The Huskies stuck with the running game out of the offset ‘I’ and Ryan Wargel provided the spark.  In a game in which he would produce 10 solo tackles, 4 assists, a sack, cause a fumble, and throw a runner for a loss, Wargel proved his all-round skills by running for a 48 yard gain on North’s first play of the fourth quarter. 

Senior Dylan Powell drove his man left and junior Cody Davis drove his man right to create a big hole in the defense.  Northington again made his presence felt by taking out the linebacker who was standing in the hole and Wargel streaked into the secondary.   He wasn’t brought down until he had reached the Terre Haute 17 and suddenly it was the revitalized Huskies who appeared to be running “downhill” in the game.

A shovel pass to Whitler on third down set up a first-and-goal from the one  and Millikan stepped left behind Brown and junior Riley Draper and dove into the end zone to make it North 30-13.

SOUTH’S FINAL SCORE

The Braves forsook the Pistol Bone and ran a no-huddle spread offense for the remainder of the game.  They strung together an 11 play drive that required only 2:20 of clock time and they handed the ball to their burly fullback for a three yard diving touchdown run.  A kick brought them back within ten points at 30-20.

Little did they know what was in store for them.

WHITLER’S FLEET FEET SEAL THE VICTORY

Junior Ford Johnson returned the kickoff out to the 31 yard line and North had good field position to start from.  The Braves apparently thought the Huskies would be running the ball in order to eat up the remaining seven minutes of play.

They discounted the Millikan-to-Whitler connection which had already yielded over 140 yards of offense on the evening.

The miscalculation proved to be Terre Haute’s undoing.

With no safety playing “over –the-top” of the defense, Millikan saw Whitler isolated in the slot with man-to-man coverage on first down.  It was a ‘hot read’ that demanded a pass to North’s most exciting player.

Millikan read the defense perfectly and delivered a pin-point strike 15 yards up the field to Whitler.

Whitler took the pass in stride and streaked toward the end zone.

Perhaps the leg cramps earlier in the night had sapped him of some of his endurance, or perhaps it was due to the fact that he had already run for over 200 yards of total offense on 8 plays for two touchdowns, or perhaps it was because he had already punted five times for over 160 yards, or perhaps it was because he already had six solo tackles and one assist in the game, but a defender managed to catch him and bring him down inside the one yard line.  Regardless, the 68 yard catch-and-run completed an historic night in which Whitler recorded the second highest receiving yardage total in school history in a single game.

Were it not for a horse collar penalty on one reception and a desperation-tackle at the one inch line on another, Whitler would have tied another record with three touchdown receptions in a single game.

As it stood, the Huskies had first and goal from the one-inch line scant seconds after the Braves had “thought” they were back in the ball game.

Millikan snuffed out that flame with his third touchdown of the evening on a dive into the end zone.  Turi’s extra point established the final score of 37-20.

AN ERA BEGINS

The Husky defense held the Braves to a pair of ‘three-and-outs’ over the game’s final six minutes and the “Szabo Era” at North opened with a victory.

On the night, the team committed very few errors, responded well in critical situations, and showed the strengths that indicate this could be a very good Husky ball club.  They benefitted from Brave penalties at inopportune times, but committed comparatively few of their own.

Given the quantity of starters graduated on both lines, the progress from last Friday night to this one was impressive. With a trip to Henderson County looming—a place where North cannot expect many calls to go in their favor—it will require mistake free ball and a great deal of focus to yield a good result.

By all appearances on Friday, the tools—both on the field AND on the sidelines—are there.

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