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North Huskies vs TH South Vigo Braves - at Bundrant Stadium Nov 1 2013

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Game Recap

HUSKIES ADVANCE WITH 33-28 WIN OVER BRAVES

The Huskies won their first IHSAA playoff game since 2007 Friday night with a 33-28 victory over the Terre Haute South Braves.  The game was not as close as the score would indicate—North led by 19 with five minutes to play and only a furious finish by the Braves managed to somewhat bridge the gap.

JENKINS PROVIDES EARLY ‘LIFT’

While South won the battle of field position early, it was linebacker Mason Jenkins who provided the spark that changed the tone of the game.  After the Braves had completed a 35 yard pass that set up first and goal at the Husky 10, the big green defense needed a big play.

Jenkins provided it.

Blitzing from his linebacker position, the super quick junior slipped past the blocking, and overwhelmed the quarterback.  He knocked the ball free and then had the presence of mind to recover the fumble five yards behind the line of scrimmage.

A GAMBIT WITH WHITLER

Initially, the Huskies’ offense struggled.  Their first possession had been a three-and-out and after the turnover, it appeared a similar fate lay ahead.  On fourth and seven, North lined up with punter Chase Whitler back to receive the snap inside the ten yard line.  By all appearances, the Braves were going to get the ball back in good field position following their turnover.

Until Whitler pulled the snap down and took off—hell-bent-for-leather around the right side.  Catching a well-timed block from fullback Ryan Wargel, Whitler raced for the sideline ahead of two defenders “playing the angle”.  Before he was forced out of bounds, the fleet-footed junior had gained the first down with four yards to spare.  Few teams try fake punts inside their twenty, but then again, few teams have a punter with the pure athleticism of Chase Whitler.

THE HUSKIES STRIKE FIRST

With the turnover in the red zone followed by the successful fake punt, the Braves appeared to be a bit bewildered and North quickly took advantage of their distraction.  Quarterback Jesse Millikan took an option run around right end on the next play and gained 12 yards.  Two plays later, the defense lost track of Jenkins as he ran a short route into the right flat.  Millikan spotted him, tossed him a flare pass, and the fullback turned up field for an 18 yard gain to the Brave 38.

With the defense reeling, North called upon tailback Maalik Butler to further their stagger.   What followed was a beautiful “team effort” of precision blocking and sensational running.

On the snap, center Buddy Waelde and guard Cody Smith effectively walled off the left side of the line.  The two interior linemen sliced a hole into the center of the line.  Wargel again made short order of the Brave defensive end, much as he had on the fake punt earlier.  Millikan handed the ball to Butler and the speedy back rocketed into an unprotected line and rolled right into the secondary.

Right tackle Riley Draper had picked his way downfield and was continuing to look for someone to hit.  Sensing Butler behind him, Draper engaged a defensive back ten yards beyond the line of scrimmage and gave the running back a point from which to pivot into the clear. 

With Draper screening the defense, Butler was off to the races toward the goal line and no one from the defensive perimeter had anywhere near the speed it took to catch him.  After Zac Turi’s extra point, the Huskies led 7-0.  The scoring play was one of the best examples of “text book” blocking that North has seen this season—eleven players all performing their tasks to perfection.

SOUTH TAKES TO THE AIR

When their first seven running plays netted a total of seven yards, it became apparent to South that if they were to have a chance in this game, it would have to come via the pass.

After Jenkins stopped a runner for a five yard loss to bring up third-and-twelve at the Brave 16 yard line, North was hoping for another stop that would yield a punt and good field position.  What they got instead were four completed passes on the next five plays that yielded 84 yards and a tie game at 7-7.  South had found their means to a potential victory and they rode that stratagem for the remainder of the game. 

Following a North three-and-out, the Braves stuck with their game plan and completed two long passes that carried them to the Husky 20.  Lining up in the shotgun on first-and-ten, the Green Defense expected another pass attempt.  What they got instead was a quarterback draw—a running play predicated on the defense’s assumption of a pass.  As the defensive line rushed around the edges of the offense trying to get to the passer and the defensive backfield dropped back into its coverage territories, the quarterback executed the draw play to perfection.  He stepped up into the pocket and dashed into the loosely defended center of the defense.  20 yards later, Terre Haute South led 14-7 with 6:27 to play in the half.

DISASTER AVERTED

What looked to be a “big play” by the Huskies in answer to the score turned into a potential disaster when a long kickoff return was fumbled near midfield.  The Braves had the ball, the lead, and momentum squarely on their side following two touchdown drives.

Twice they converted third downs as they wound their way to the North 12 yard line.  A touchdown seemed imminent until the defense finally found some ‘answers’ for the Braves’ passing game.

On first down, junior Riley Fidler broke up a pass in the end zone to avert a score.  On second down, senior Austin Payne (a player who has been known for “Big Plays” throughout his career) blitzed from the outside of the defense and sacked the quarterback for an 8 yard loss.  On third down, Wargel “sniffed out” a screen pass and dropped the receiver for a two yard loss.  A fourth down “gimmick” play came up short of the first down.

The defense had heard the call of duty and answered it.

After two consecutive possessions of three-and-out, it was up to the offense to answer the same call.

TWO MINUTE DRILL

With just over two minutes left on the clock and the ball at the Husky 11, the Huskies were not initially in a risk-taking mode.  They appeared to let the clock run since North would get the ball first to start the second half. 

A pair of encroachment penalties on the defense changed that attitude.

With a first down at the 21, a sense of urgency crept into the North game plan and the Husky passing game finally took off.

Whitler caught an 18 yard pass in the seam on the right hand side.  Millikan rolled out to pass, kept the ball, and scrambled for 14 yards into Brave territory before going out of bounds.  Junior Zac Turi caught a slant pass for another 11 yards to the 35 and North called timeout with 34 seconds to play.

Coming out of the timeout, the Huskies gave South a taste of their own medicine as Millikan gained seven on a quarterback draw.  A pass finally fell incomplete and it brought up fourth down at the 28 and another time out.

Wargel ran a similar route out of the backfield to the one that Jenkins had run so successfully on North’s first scoring drive and Millikan found him with the ball.  Wargel raced for the flag but stepped out at the one yard line with four seconds on the clock.

There was time for one play and the choice was kick a near certain field goal or risk a play for the touchdown.  Without hesitation, the North coaching staff put the ball in the hands of Butler and trusted their offensive line.

They were rewarded with six points as the half ended.

A two point running attempt failed but North had regained momentum in the game and it was something that they would not yield until well after the game was decided.  North trailed 14-13 going into the locker room.

SECOND HALF DYAMITE

To say the Huskies came out in the third quarter “hot” would be a gross understatement.

To say the Huskies came out in the third quarter “nuclear powered” would not be that much of a stretch.

On both sides of the ball, North overwhelmed the Braves in the third stanza.

Millikan went four-for-four on passes and rushed for a pair of first downs on the Huskies’ first possession.  His fourth pass of the drive went to Jenkins on a play action route at the five yard line.  Jenkins went in untouched and Turi’s extra point gave the Huskies a lead they never relinquished at 20-14.

THE OL’ ONE-TWO: WARGEL AND BUTLER

After an attempted on-side kick gave Terre Haute the ball at midfield, the Husky defense then mauled the Braves.  Leading tackler Ryan Wargel blitzed from his middle linebacker position on third-and-eight, was one of three defenders to hit the quarterback, and he came away with the ball at the Terre Haute South 48 yard line.

If Whitler’s numbers were “quiet” in this game, his presence was felt nonetheless.  Having burned the Braves for over 200 yards of total offense the first time the two teams met, the defense keyed upon Whitler all night and was aware of his presence.

On North’s first play following the fumble, Whitler lined up at right wing back and Butler lined up at wing back on the opposite side.  On the snap, Whitler came rushing to his left and Millikan spun with the snap and faked a handoff to Whitler as though North were running a sweep in that direction.

The entire South defense “bit” on the fake.  They were determined to stop Whitler at all costs.

Butler, however, had other plans.  On the snap, he had first brushed the linebacker as though to block and then released straight up the field on a fly pattern.  When the defenders practically posed for a team picture at the end of the North line where they anticipated tackling Whitler, Millikan raised the ball from his vantage point on the right side and arced a long, perfect spiral to Butler.  The ball traveled fifty yards in the air and hit Butler mid-stride inside the ten.

North led 26-14.  Only a missed extra point marred the perfection of the game’s third quarter.

THE DEFENSE RISES—“AGAIN”

A pair of long tosses by the Braves again put the ball in front of North’s goal posts, but the defense again rose to the occasion.  Turi raced in and dropped a runner for a four yard loss on second down and senior De’Oshay Johnson batted down a third down pass.  On fourth and seven, a fierce pass rush and good coverage resulted in a turnover on downs.

FORD JOHNSON MAKES AN APPEARANCE

Having been out for several games with concussion syndrome, junior Ford Johnson returned to the lineup and spelled Butler.  His quick and darting running style made short work of the defense.  He streaked through the middle of the defense for 12 yards to the Husky 39 and on the next play broke three tackles on a 23 yard gain to the Brave 38.  The game moved to the fourth quarter with North fully in control.

ANOTHER DEFENSIVE BIG PLAY

When the previous drive ended with a missed field goal, the Braves took over at the 20 yard line.  For their sins, perhaps, they got the ball back with the Husky defense in a “take-no-prisoners” mode.  On first down, Fidler and Wargel combined to stop another screen pass for a five yard loss.  The ferocity of the hit was felt along both sidelines.

Now driven to desperate measures, South attempted yet another long pass despite being backed up deep in their territory.  They paid for their desperation with another turnover.

Jenkins patrolled the center of the field as the quarterback dropped back near his goal line to pass.  A stiff rush opposed the lanky South quarterback and his pass sailed on him slightly.  Having already tallied a touchdown and a fumble recovery in the game, Jenkins added an interception to his repertoire at the 26 yard line.

FIVE TO PLAY UP NINETEEN POINTS

The Huskies took time off the clock leading up to the inevitable score. A pair of North penalties added “a difficulty factor” but the outcome, given how “hot” the offense was, was inevitable.  A similar pass to Wargel that had produced results at the end of the first half yielded a first and goal at the ten.  It took four straight running plays, but Millikan sneaked the ball into the end zone with just over five minutes to play.  Turi’s extra point kick gave North a 19 point lead at 33-14.

The game appeared to be in hand.

FAST FINISH FOR THE BRAVES

Then Terre Haute South returned the kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown and recovered an on-sides kick.  The North defense continued to begrudgingly give ground and twice forced the Braves into ‘fourth and long’ situations as the clock wound down.  Needing two touchdowns to tie, the prospects of a South victory were still not likely as the Husky defense forced them to expend time off the clock.  When a block-in-the-back penalty took a touchdown off the board and moved the ball back outside the 20 yard line, the Huskies appeared to have answered the call once again.

Then a receiver found an opening in a seam and went 20 yards for the score.  After the kick North led by just 33-28.

Following a failed on-sides kick, the Huskies managed to garner a first down at the Brave 35 and effectively ran the clock down far enough that Terre Haute had no real chance to win.  Despite getting the ball back with 20 seconds to play, some ‘hail Mary’ passes ended the game and North had the victory.

CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION

Sectional playoff victories have not come easy for the Huskies in the last ten seasons.  There was a time when North not only won playoff games, but they won five Sectional Championships in just nine seasons between 1992 and 2000.  Friday’s victory marked North’s first post-season victory since 2007’s consecutive wins over Jennings County and New Albany.

Next Friday night’s game against the Terre Haute North Patriots marks the Huskies’ first appearance in a Sectional Championship game since 2007 versus Jeffersonville.  While North will be listed as an underdog going into that game, the defense that “set the table” Friday night and helped to ignite the offense can spark the team to victory with another sterling performance.

“Teams” win games, not players.  Last Friday night, the Huskies played their finest “team” game of the season.

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