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North Huskies vs TH North Patriots - at Carl S. Riddle Stadium Nov 8 2013

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PATRIOTS END NORTH'S SEASON WITH 42-7 LOSS

The Terre Haute North Patriots brought the Huskies season to a close with a 42-7 victory in the IHSAA Sectional Championship game.  Big plays highlighted the Patriots domination on the scoreboard—a domination that was not apparent on the playing field.

The Huskies won the time of possession battle by a wide margin—possessing the ball nearly 32 minutes to just 16:15 for the Patriots.  The Huskies garnered 20 first downs to only 11 for Terre Haute and the Green and White gained almost the identical yardage on offense as their hosts.

In the end, the huge variance in the score could be accounted for by missed opportunities and turnovers rather than a mismatch in talent or desire.

FIRST QUARTER DOMINANCE

The Huskies came out in a 6-3 defense for the first time this season and the Patriots reacted as though they had not seen the formation before.  Up against a power running game that featured a pair of backs capable of going the distance on any play, North stacked nine men “in the box” on the line of scrimmage.  TH North went ‘three and out’ on their first possession.

The Huskies executed one of their ‘text book’ drives following the punt.  Stringing together five first downs, North moved the ball down field in small chunks.  If the coaches’ game plan was to win the Championship by keeping their opponent's "powerhouse" offense off the field, then the first quarter was testimony to that game plan.

Taking over with 10:30 to play in the opening stanza, the Huskies converted two third down opportunities as well as two fourth down opportunities (the first of which came at the Evansville North 22 yard line!).  Upon reaching the Patriot 17 on the 17^th play of the drive, North then suffered a third down sack of the quarterback and came up short on a 42 yard field goal attempt.  Just 27 seconds remained in the first quarter, but North had nothing to show for the gargantuan drive.

SECOND QUARTER

A pair of punts marked the start of the second quarter.  Despite suffering a completely undeserved targeting penalty that moved the ball into Husky territory, the defense responded when Conner Rausch and Austin Payne teamed up to sack the quarterback and stall the Patriot opportunity.

North then failed to convert and had to punt from the shade of their goal posts.  The Terre Haute return man fielded the ball just inside the Husky 40 yard line and worked his way to the 20 before going down.  On the first play from scrimmage, the same runner went 20 yards on a "zone read" running play and it put the Patriots on the board with a 7-0 lead

GAME OF FIELD POSITION

Both defenses were surrendering ground slowly and the game became a contest in which the battle for field position between punts was critical.  By managing a pair of first downs and then holding North Vigo to a ‘three-and-out’, the Huskies got the ball back near the 40 yard line with 4:04 to play in the half.  With junior Ford Johnson doing most of the “heavy lifting”, the Big Green offense pushed its way to the Patriot 31 before failing to convert on fourth down.

Less than two minutes remained on the clock and the Patriots transitioned to a pass oriented hurry-up offense.  North countered with frequent blitzes and put pressure on the quarterback.  Zac Turi “hurried” one pass attempt and caused it to fall incomplete and senior Dylan Powell hurried another.  North Vigo, however, managed to convert a third and ten with a “draw” play designed to counter just such a rush.  As the clock wound down on the half, the Patriots managed to complete a pair of passes that brought them to first-and-goal at the six yard line.

BEST HALF OF FOOTBALL SINCE SEPTEMBER

Despite having played one of their best halves of football this season, the Huskies gave up a last second touchdown and went into the locker room trailing 14-0.  The 6-3 defense had bottled up the vaunted North Vigo running game and the offense was winning the time-of-possession battle in a big way.

SECOND HALF

…and then a meteor struck Carl S. Riddle Stadium.

Not really, but it seemed like it in the visitor stands.

To begin the half, the Huskies drove inside the North Vigo 20 and the drive stalled.  The Patriots scored on a 91 yard pass on the next play and made it 21-0.

The two teams exchanged punts and then the Huskies suffered a turnover at midfield.  The Patriots scored on a 49 yard run on the next play and made it 28-0.

The ensuing kickoff return resulted in a stumble and a slip and North was bottled up at their three yard line.  The Patriots returned an intercepted pass to the North 10 yard line and scored two plays later to make the score 35-0.

North could only manage the 24 yard line on its next possession and then kicked just an eleven yard punt that gave the Patriots the ball at the Husky 35.  They ran the ball into the line eight straight times and made the score 42-0.

The Huskies scored a touchdown against the Patriot junior varsity defense and the game ended at 42-7.

After playing one of their best halves of football in the first half, North played one of its worst in the second half.

Regardless of the outcome of the Sectional Championship Game, the 2013 North Huskies won their first “November” football game since the 2000 season and likewise won their first IHSAA playoff game since 2007.

THE CORE RETURNS

The core of both lines returns in 2014, the linebacker corps will return intact along with a seasoned group of wide receivers, as well as three of the top five rushers.  On the basis of 2013 success, the SIAC needs to be ready for a HUSKY RENAISSANCE in the coming season.

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