Back

North Huskies vs Memorial Tigers - at Enlow Field in Owen Stadium Sept 4 2015

Game Stats    Game Recap   

Offense

Team Stats

Defensive Stats

Game Recap

HUSKIES SELF DESTRUCT IN 35-20 LOSS TO TIGERS

Penalties and turnovers told the story in a 35-20 loss to Memorial Friday night.  North’s 115 yards in penalties were the most by the Huskies in a game since 2010, but marked the second time in just five games that the team had more than 100 yards in flags.  Despite the ragged play, Friday’s game seemed winnable until back-to-back turnovers in the fourth quarter closed the door on opportunity.

OPENING DRIVE STRIKES GOLD

From the outset, it appeared that a combination of power blocking by the offensive line and hard-nosed running by the backs would yield good results.  Starting at the 34 yard line, North ran 13 straight running plays on a six-minute drive that went the distance of the field.  The Huskies overcame a holding penalty near midfield when junior Cage Street powered off right tackle for a 30 yard gain to the Tiger 16.  When the defense stiffened inside the five, it fell to senior center Bryce Brown to “can opener” a path into the end zone for quarterback Austin Curtis’ sneak play and the score.  North led 7-0 following Thomas Samuel’s extra-point kick.

SKETCHY PASS DEFENSE

When it appeared the Huskies might hold the Tigers at midfield on third-and-long, the home team managed to spring a receiver into open space for a 35 yard gain.  They scored on a 15 yard run up the middle on the following play and when they kicked the extra-point, North was flagged for its first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of the evening.

With the Tigers kicking off from North territory, the Huskies had terrible field position and promptly went ‘three-and-out’.  A 49 yard punt by junior Shawn Coane reversed the field and it appeared the Huskies might dodge a bullet.  Unfortunately, a second-and-long pass play that was broken up by great play by the cornerback was negated when a Husky linebacker was flagged for defensive holding on a receiver nowhere in the vicinity of the pass. 

The penalty carried the Tigers into North territory and on third-and-four in the next set of downs, a Tiger wide receiver got open down the left sideline and streaked into the end zone.  An extra point kick made it 14-7 in favor of the Tigers. 

HUSKIES STALL AGAIN

Despite an unsportsmanlike penalty against the Tigers on the ensuing kickoff that gave North the ball at mid-field, North fell victim to another all-too-common event this season.  Facing a third and nine situation, a receiver looked to be open along the sideline near the first down marker.  When the pass came his way, the receiver turned up field to advance the ball.  Unfortunately, he failed to catch the ball and North’s ensuing punt went out of bounds after traveling just 23 yards.

MORE PENALTIES

It appeared that North would hold the Tigers in their own territory, but a third and five penalty at the 35 yielded a fourth and inches that Memorial converted.  Four plays later, the Tigers faced fourth-and-two at midfield and chose to go for the first down.  A quarterback-draw play up the middle resulted in a 51 yard touchdown run and a 21-7 lead for Memorial.  North was assessed its second unsportsmanlike penalty on the extra point attempt and a player was ejected.

LIGHTNING STRIKES FOR NORTH

The Huskies immediately produced some ‘fourth down magic’ of their own on the ensuing possession.  Faced with fourth and one at the 34 yard line, the North staff chose to run the ball.  On a dive play between the center and right guard, Shawn Coane slipped through a gap, shouldered past a linebacker, and broke free into the secondary.  He scooted 66 yards for North’s longest run of the season and put North ‘back in the ballgame’.  The extra point kick missed wide left and the Huskies went into half trailing 21-13.

SECOND HALF

The defense bent but refused to break to begin the third quarter.  Despite giving up a pair of first downs on third-and-nine or longer, the pass defense made a pair of big plays when the Tigers drove inside North’s 15 yard line.  On third-and-eight, linebacker Trais Lowe knocked down a pass over the middle and fellow linebacker Cage Street deflected a pass on fourth-and-eight to stall the drive.

The defense again rose to the occasion when North’s attempt to convert a fourth-and-two at their 38 yard line came up short.  Street tackled a runner for a loss on second down to set up third and long.  Memorial’s pass fell out of bounds.  They then chose to play a game of field position by punting from the North 39 and the Huskies were pinned back at their 9 yard line.

THE FIRST TURNOVER

North looked to be turning the momentum of the game in its favor.   With the defense having stopped Memorial twice in North territory, the offense revved up when Curtis connected with Dylan Heiman for an 11 yard gain to get the ball out beyond the 20.  Coane ran for 12 yards on the next play and North looked to be rolling into high gear.  Unfortunately, the quarterback was sacked for a ten yard loss, stripped of the ball, and a Tiger defender returned it to the four yard line.  They scored on the next play and North trailed 28-13.

FOURTH QUARTER

The Huskies refused to give up.  Taking the ball on their next possession, they were on their eighth play of a drive that had taken them to the Memorial 33 yard line when another penalty took a toll.  Senior running back Trevor McDowell broke through the line on his way to the Memorial 20 only to have the play called back by a holding penalty.  Instead of first and ten in the red zone with a chance to make it a one score game again, North faced second and seventeen.  The quarterback was sacked for a six yard loss and on third and 23 he was flushed from the pocket, ran, and was stopped for a loss of a yard. 

ANOTHER DEADLY PENALTY

Coane pinned the Tigers back at the 16 with his punt and North got a boost when the Tigers’ quarterback went down awkwardly on third down and had to leave the game.  Having stopped Memorial yet again and knowing that their best player would likely not return, with nearly seven minutes remaining, the Huskies had a good chance to turn the balance in their direction.

Coane fielded a punt at the North 40, faked a reverse handoff to Heiman, and shot down the Memorial sideline on a return that electrified the Husky faithful.  When he was forced out at the Memorial 16, the cheering suddenly shifted to the opposite side of Enlow Field due to the appearance of a yellow flag back at the North 40.  A block-in-the-back penalty negated the return.

Despite the adversity, the Huskies continued to give themselves a chance to win.  McDowell ran for 27 yards on the first two plays and Memorial committed a penalty of their own that moved the ball into Tiger territory.  There was just too much distance to cover, however, and the drive stalled at the Memorial 25.

THE END GAME

Facing a punchless Tiger offense without their starting quarterback, North easily forced Memorial to punt with just over three minutes remaining.    The Huskies took over at their 37 and were in full blown passing mode.  Everyone in the stadium knew North needed to move quickly to make up two scores—and that included the Memorial safety.  He jumped a pass route, picked off a short pass at the 40 yard line and went the distance to the end zone untouched.  Memorial led 35-13.

A completed pass on North’s next play from scrimmage ended in a fumble at midfield and Memorial again had the ball with 2:52 to play.  The defense nailed Memorial for losses on three straight plays and North got the advantage of a short field after the punt.  The Huskies went  45 yards in the game’s final minute to make the final score 35-20.

North gained as many yards as their opponent, had nearly as many first downs, and put together multiple long drives.  Unfortunately, this marked another game they could have won with fewer self-inflicted wounds.

BACK TO TOP