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North Huskies vs Terre Haute South Braves- at Bob Clements Stadium Aug 19 2016

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Offense

Team Stats

Defensive Stats

Game Recap

BIG PLAYS, SOLID DEFENSE KEYS TO HUSKIES 17-7 WIN AT TERRE HAUTE

The North Huskies took care of business Friday night with a 17-7 victory on the road at Terre Haute South.  Big plays resulted in two touchdowns separated by just two minutes and thirty seconds of play, but it was the defense that ultimately made the biggest statements in the game.

THE OFFENSE MOVED THE CHAINS

Running an offense that looked at times to be a derivative of the “Wildcat” offense Florida deployed in Tim Tebow’s hay-day, North rang up over 200 yards rushing and generated 13 first downs.  Senior quarterback Shawn Coane carried the bulk of the load by running the ball 29 times in the game for 126 yards.  The front line, consisting of left tackle Hunter Garrett, left guard Gavin Vaughn, center Evan Stroud, right guard Evan Fehd, right tackle Evan Gallaty, and end Reid McIntire, played with great composure even when situations dictated the use of unbalanced lines and complicated blocking assignments.  The line did not allow a sack of the quarterback and just five of 54 offensive plays resulted in a loss of yards.

In short, the offensive line “represented” Friday night.

Besides Coane’s continuing brilliance in extending plays with his footwork, tenacious second efforts, and his ability to spot daylight and run to it, the offense responded when it put the ball in the hands of one of its new playmakers. 

SECOND QUARTER FIREWORKS

The game entered the second quarter as a scoreless tie, but when Coane dashed 19 yards around end to pick up a first down on third and two, things began to shake loose.  Another keeper by Coane picked up 17 and senior Daniel Sellers then added 18 yards on two more carries to move the line of scrimmage to the Braves’ 13 yard line.  After that the defense stiffened and the Huskies settled for senior Nem Gvozdic’s 25 yard field goal.  The Huskies led 3-0.

It was at this point in the game that North’s defense and a pair of newcomers on offense broke the game open.

Terre Haute South started out at their 38, but on first down returning All-SIAC linebacker Cage Street shot through a gap and dropped a runner for a seven yard loss.  A short run followed and South faced third and 12.  Dropping back to pass, the quarterback threw deep towards the North sideline and a first year starter in the Husky backfield, senior Courtland Darrett, over powered the receiver and simply took the ball away from him with an interception.

The Huskies took over at their 38 and after two running plays, Coane was forced out of the game momentarily to address a cut on his elbow.  In came sophomore A.J. Wheeler, cold off the bench and taking his first snap as a varsity football player.  He dropped back, drew the rush towards him, and then passed the ball over the tops of the helmets of the defenders in his face.  The “screen” pass, designed to draw the defenders in too far to react to a short pass behind them, landed in the hands of fellow first time starter, senior D’amonte Sylvain.

Sylvain knew exactly what to do with the ball.

A quick juke step eluded a linebacker and then the super-fast tailback broke to his left.  In three steps he had broken free of the pack and raced 60 yards for a touchdown.  Gvozdic’s extra point made it 10-0.

THE DEFENSE HOLDS AND FAMILIAR FACES STEP UP TO SCORE

South fared little better the next possession.  A procedure penalty dug them a hole on first down.  Senior CJ Wasson stopped a runner for a short gain on first and 15 with a bowl-the-guy-over tackle.  Sophomore Braylen Neighbors surged in from his defensive tackle spot and dropped a runner for a loss on second down.  On third down it fell to Street to do something that the Huskies did all night long—they denied the Braves a first down.  NINE of ten times that Terre Haute faced third down in the game, the defense rose to the occasion and held them short.  Street stripped a runner of his footing with an ankle breaking tackle and South had to punt.

With his cut bandaged, Coane returned to the game and left little doubt he was healthy.  On first and ten from the North 33, he took the snap, faked a handoff, rolled three steps, and fired a pass down the field that found Sellers in stride at the 25 yard line.  Sellers hauled the ball in and outraced two defenders to the goal line.  North led 17-0 and scored all their points in just five minutes of play.

A poorly executed on-sides kick yielded great field position for the Braves inside North territory.  Despite a Street tackle for loss (one of FIVE he would have on the night) on first down, Terre Haute South managed to get a score just before the half ended.

THE SECOND HALF BELONGS TO THE “D”

South got the ball to begin the second half, but Street seemed determined that they would not keep it for long.  He recorded two tackles and an assist on their first four plays sandwiched around a Wasson tackle for loss and the Braves had to punt.

Unfortunately a fumble on the punt return gave the ball back to South.  Backed up to their 33, the defense again mauled the Braves.  Wasson stopped a runner for a two yard loss on first down.  Street dragged down a runner from behind on second down.  Middle linebacker Adra Armstead ‘planted’ a runner short of the first down marker on third down and senior cornerback David Roach stepped in to break up a fourth down pass.

The offense moved the ball into Terre Haute South territory on eight plays but a botched handoff gave the ball back to the Braves at their 40.

The results were similar.

After a pass gained 22 yards, North dug in at its 38.  Street blitzed and stopped a runner for a one yard loss on first down.  Armstead surged through the offense and tackled a runner for an eight yard loss on second down.  The defense flushed the quarterback out of the pocket on third and long and sophomore Drew Routh tackled him at the line of scrimmage.  The Braves punted the ball away and never challenged to score again.

FOURTH QUARTER

The Huskies escaped disaster when a bad snap on a punt from the the Braves’ 35 resulted in Coane running for his life and attempting a rugby style punt that netted a 12 yard loss.  Terre Haute South took over near midfield, but Street effectively ended the threat when he recorded a 9 yard quarterback sack on second down and then defended against a pass over the middle on third down.  There was no fight left in the Braves after they punted.

The Husky offense moved the ball to the Terre Haute South 34 before appearing to stall.  On fourth and two, North faked a punt, snapped the ball directly to Street and the all-purpose senior dashed 18 yards around end for a first down at the 16.  The ploy ended the game for all intents and purposes since South did not get the ball back on downs until under a minute thirty seconds remained on the clock.

LESSONS LEARNED

The first game of any season is always telling in how well a team prepared in the offseason.  This Husky club showed up ready for action Friday.  It served as testimony to the staff, the players, and the commitment of everyone who supports Husky football that this club, this 2016 North Varsity Football Team, appears to be a tightly knit group united in their purpose to do their best on the grid iron.  Fans can ask for no more on any given Friday night.

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