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North Huskies vs Henderson County Colonels - at Colonel Stadium Aug 30 2013

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Game Recap

LAST MINUTE TOUCHDOWN SINKS HUSKIES 16-13 AT HENDERSON

Jesse Millikan’s two yard TD run gave the Huskies a 13-9 lead with 5:42 to play Friday night.  The plunge capped off a nine play, four minute drive.  The Colonels then strung together a nine play drive of their own and scored the winning touchdown with just 1:02 to play.

With both teams running “Option” style offenses, it was the Henderson County front seven that had got the better of the Huskies.  North got a taste of its own medicine against the Colonels—for the last two seasons, the Husky front seven had been amongst the best in the conference and many players had received post-season accolades for their accomplishments.  Friday, the Colonel’s three down linemen managed to tie up North’s offensive line and Henderson’s linebackers were able to roam freely and stopped the Husky offense.

COLONELS ‘MAN UP’ IN THE ZONE

Option-style offenses depend upon superior offensive line play to execute the zone blocking schemes that the offense calls for.   Last week, against Terre Haute South, the ‘Inside Zone’ had produced long runs in both the first and fourth quarter for the Huskies. 

The Inside Zone is a run play predicated on multiple double teams and a vertical “push” at the line-of-scrimmage.  If, as you watch a game, the two opposing lines seem to come to a ‘standstill’ on the defense’s side of the ball, you can bet that the offense will produce some scintillating runs “up the middle”.  Jesse Millikan and Ryan Wargel both had these types of runs against Terre Haute South.

If, on the other hand, the two opposing lines seem to meet their ‘equilibrium’ on the offensive side of the ball, well… you can bet that the offense is going to struggle to run the ball consistently.

On Friday night, North ran for just 55 yards on 28 attempts for an average gain of less than 2 yards per carry.

FIRST QUARTER SCORING

Early on, junior defensive tackle Buddy Waelde put on a show against the Colonels.  On their first play, Waelde and senior Austin Payne combined to throw a runner for a two yard loss.  On the next play, Waelde stuffed the runner for another loss.  A subsequent Henderson punt gave North excellent field position at the Colonel 40 yard line.

From the beginning of the game, yards were hard for the Huskies to come by.  On this first possession, they managed to spring senior Maalik Butler when junior tackle Cody Smith buried his defender and Butler dashed 11 yards to the 21 yard line.  The drive stalled out and Junior Zac Turi was called upon to attempt a 36 yard field goal.

Turi had tied the North “Career Record” for field goals with his fifth against Terre Haute South in week one and set the school record when he split the uprights to give the Huskies an early 3-0 lead.

The Colonels fought back on the next possession and produced a touchdown.  A receiver broke two tackles and ran for 31 yards after catching a screen pass at the Henderson 33.  On second and long at the 20, North’s defensive front failed to mount a rush and the Colonel quarterback had too much time to find an open receiver at the three yard line.  The Colonels pounded the ball into the endzone two plays later but missed the extra point and led 6-3

SECOND QUARTER STANDSTILL

With each team turning the ball over to one another within a minute of play and both defenses digging in up front, the game looked to be between two evenly matched contestants.

North had a drive stall out at midfield and then recovered a Henderson fumble on the punt return only to hand the ball back to the Colonels on the next play when they intercepted a pass on their one yard line.

It wasn’t until each team’s final possession of the half that the offenses began to click.

Henderson had begun to blitz aggressively on defense early in the second quarter, and for two possessions, North had failed to block the extra rushers well.  Taking over at the North 39 with six minutes to play in the half, the Huskies faced more pressure from the Henderson defense.

Butler, however, proved to be more elusive on this set of downs than previous ones.  On first down he twisted for four yards and on second down, despite being hit in the backfield, he spun and picked up five more yards.  On third and short, Millikan ran past a blitzing linebacker to pick up a couple yards and a first down.

The Colonels stopped the next to ‘Option’ plays dead in their tracks.  On third and long, Millikan lined up in the “Pistol I” formation, took the snap, and fired a bullet to senior De’Oshay Johnson for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 11 yard line.

CONFUSION AMONG THE OFFICIALS

What followed was a confusing set of downs in which the Colonels were called for Pass Interference, the Huskies were flagged for Intentional Grounding, and the scoreboard reading “Fourth down” and eight to go despite North receiving a first down for the defensive penalty.

After the Husky sideline objected, the officials huddled, counted plays out on their fingers, and then had the scoreboard reflect 3^rd down.  The matter proved moot when the Colonel pass rush forced Millikan to dump the ball off well behind the line of scrimmage and North settled for a field goal attempt.

Turi then extended his career field goal record (7) with a 29 yard kick that also tied the school record for most field goals in a game.  The score was 6-6 with just over two minutes to play in the half.

It appeared that North would go into halftime tied until a Henderson runner took an option toss outside right end on third and eight and gave the Colonels a first down at the North 40.  A pass on the next play was successful to a receiver running a post pattern and Henderson had the ball at the 14.  Two plays later, a Colonel 26 yard field goal gave them a halftime lead of 9-6.

SECOND HALF

The third quarter saw both teams punting multiple times as neither offense could gain momentum.  A North drive stalled at the Henderson 38 with 5:44 left in the quarter and the Colonels looked to make the most of the good field position.  They quickly moved into North territory but Austin Payne came up big on a blitz and stopped a runner for a big loss on second down.  Turi then broke up a pass play and third down and the game moved to the final stanza still at 9-6.

FOURTH QUARTER

It was Buddy Waelde who again stopped the Colonels dead in their tracks when “crunch time” presented itself.  On third and one at the Henderson 35, Waelde mauled his would-be blocker, grabbed the quarterback and spun him around in the backfield.  Chase Whitler then finished the runner off and forced him to the ground to bring about a fourth down punt.

PAYNE’S BIG GAIN

The punt left North with first down at the Husky 24 yard line.  The offense had been limited by the Henderson defense all evening long.  A pair of slant passes had resulted in 14 yard gains, but those were North’s longest plays of the night to that point.  The Henderson ‘3-4’ defense had effectively limited the Huskies to short bites of long fields with its ferocious rush and ability to plug holes.

When Millikan lined up in the spread offense, an unlikely ‘target’ lined up in the slot to the right.  Senior Austin Payne has been utilized primarily as a defensive player throughout his career.  He had come up with key defensive plays against Harrison and Reitz in 2012.  Until Friday night, however, he had never caught a pass for the Huskies.

He saved his best for the Colonels.

Running a post pattern, Payne streaked into the Henderson deep secondary.  Millikan stood in the pocket despite a blitzing linebacker and delivered a perfect strike at the 50 yard line.  To his credit, the quarterback took a huge blow from the blitzing player that could have been called a late hit.  Nonetheless, the ball hit Payne mid-stride and the receiver picked up another 14 yards before he was wrestled down at the 36 yard line.

OUT OF MAYHEM COMES OPPORTUNITY

An odd series of events resulted when the Husky offense appeared to stall at the 35 yard line.  First North sent Turi out to punt only to see him fake a pass, then punt, then get tackled, and then see Henderson County flagged for roughing the kicker.

On fourth-and-four, North called a time out to consider its options.  When Millikan returned to the field with the first team offense after the time out, they were then flagged for a delay of game penalty.

On fourth-and-nine for the second time in ten seconds of play, North looked a bit out of sorts.  As Millikan stood under center in the ‘Offset I’ formation, Henderson crowded the line of scrimmage with ten players within five yards of the line of scrimmage.

Millikan faked a handoff to the diving fullback, twisted and faked yet another handoff to Whitler who was coming around as though on a reverse.

The Henderson defense was confused by all the mayhem in the backfield and Millikan rolled right with the football looking for a receiver.  He spotted senior Justin Lockett at the 22 yard line, delivered the ball, and Lockett hustled to the five yard line.  Three plays later, Millikan surprised the defense with a quick snap count following a running play, caught the Colonels without setting, and dove into the end zone with the go-ahead touchdown.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Over the years, Henderson County holds a 20-6 advantage over North in the all-time series.  During the last decade North has lost four times to the Colonels by a touchdown or less.  Friday night would be the fifth time.

The Colonels sprang a runner outside on first down at the 41.  The North end was lined up on the outside shoulder of the Henderson County tackle.  The tackle stood 6’7” and weighed 280 lbs.  He stayed low and after that it was just a matter of physics.  The runner stepped inside the tackle, sprung into the North secondary, cut back to the center of the field, and was on his way to a score when Chase Whitler ran him down at the 14 yard line.

The defense attempted to make a stand and junior Marcus Northington and Zac Turi stopped a runner for no gain on first and goal.  A delay of game penalty against the Colonels made it second and goal from the nine.

A blown play by the Henderson County tail back left the quarterback standing alone in the backfield with the ball extended and no one to hand it to.  Austin Payne smothered the hapless back for a five yard loss to set up third and goal from the 14.

The Colonels lined up in the shotgun with two wide-outs to the short side of the field on the right.  The slot receiver delayed before going out for a pass, instead running a “wheel” rout around the outside of the other receiver.  North’s defenders bumped into one another and the “wheel” pattern was wide open in the end zone for the winning touchdown.  Henderson County led 16-13 with 1:02 to play.

LOOKING AHEAD

It is likely that future opponents will use tape of this game as “the book” on the Huskies.  Strong penetration along the defensive front by a 3-4 defense will likely cause North fits throughout the season.  But this offensive line is young and coming together—they are big and talented and not likely to again face a nose tackle or end with the skills that the Colonel players possessed.

Correspondingly, until the final drive of the game, the North defense had contained the Colonels to less than 150 yards of total offense.  The team looked well organized on defense and there is evidence that our linebacking corps could be a standout group.

There are no good losses.  The Huskies take away from this loss should be that their defense will keep them in games until the offense finds a way to win them.  North had no turnovers that resulted in opponent scores for the second game in a row—a far cry from past seasons.

The roots are there for a solid season.  The team just needs to grow. 

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