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North Huskies vs Memorial Tigers- at Bundrant Stadium Sept 2, 2016

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Offense

Team Stats

Defensive Stats

Game Recap

HUSKIES FADE IN 28-14 LOSS TO TIGERS

Memorial made halftime adjustments that wiped out North’s first half success en route to a 28-14 defeat of the Huskies.  North’s lead of 14-0 was gone barely three minutes into the third quarter and the Tigers pulled away by not allowing the Huskies to convert 5 of their first 6 third down opportunities in the second half.

EARLY DOMINATION OF THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE

North’s 2016 offense utilizes a high percentage of misdirection counters, reverses, and trap plays.  In the first quarter all of those weapons were on display as the Huskies opened with a 15 play drive that covered 93 yards.  Senior D’amonte Sylvain did most of the running with 5 carries for 47 yards including a brilliant 38 yard run on an option play around right end.  Senior linemen Gavin Vaughn and Evan Fehd in particular opened gaps in the line that multiple runners utilized.  Keeping possession for nine minutes, North handed the ball to senior Cage Street to punch across from the five yard line off left tackle.  Thomas Samuel’s extra point kick gave North a 7-0 lead.

DEFENSE COMES UP WITH BIG PLAYS

The Big Green Defense came up with multiple big plays in the first half and limited the Tigers to just five minutes of possession.  On their first trip down the field, Memorial advanced to North’s 25 and completed a pass at the Husky 13.  The receiver, though, was immediately stripped of the ball by junior Isaac Conger and the fumble was recovered by fellow junior Caleb Hague.

On Memorial’s second possession, following a Husky turnover at the Tigers’ 40 yard line, the defense again came up big with a stand on 4^th down and 1 at the North 20 yard line.  As Memorials running back bore into the line he was met head on by Street and Hague who combined to stop him for a one yard loss.

SELLERS ‘RAMBLES’ PAST TIGERS DEN

Senior Daniel Sellers took his turn in the limelight following the turnover on downs.  Facing third down and one at the North 30, the Huskies ran what started as a sweep to the right.  Sellers, running the opposite direction, took a handoff on a reverse sweep and dashed for the outside perimeter of the Memorial defense.  Two would-be tacklers grappled with him, but Sellers would not be denied the yardage he needed for the first down.

Breaking free, he managed to nimbly step between two more defenders and then rambled up field.  It would be forty yards before Memorial could bring him down. 

Following a North offside penalty, the Huskies were again facing a test to pick up a first down.  Another misdirection play, this one a “counter” with Sellers running from his wingback position against the flow of the play in the opposite direction, the quarterback slipped the ball into the hard-running senior’s bread basket and he ran for 11 yards.  This set up a ‘make-able’ third and one situation which the Huskies converted.

On third down and goal from the eleven, it was again Sellers who came through for North.  Quarterback Shawn Coane retreated against a hard Tiger rush and then lobbed a ‘screen’ pass over the defenders’ heads.  Sellers grabbed the pass, tucked the ball away, and then bowled over a pair of Memorial players on his way to the end zone.  The extra point gave North its 14-0 lead with 2:26 to play in the half.

Unfortunately, the Huskies were ‘done’ for the evening.

The Tigers got a long kickoff return and followed it up with a 41 yard gain on their first play from scrimmage.  Shortly thereafter, they scored their first touchdown and the half ended 14-7

SECOND HALF GOES TO MEMORIAL

Where North set up its offense in the first half by running sweeps and then reversing the flow with misdirection plays, the Tigers’ brain-trust made adjustments in their defensive line at half time that effectively put an end to that strategy.

North’s third quarter possessions went:

1. Three and out.

2. Failure to convert fourth and four at the North 44.

3. Interception at the North 36.

Memorial scored on all three exchanges and took the lead 28-14.  The counters, reverses, and inside screens that worked so well running back into the Tigers’ center of their defense in the first half failed to make a dent in the second half.

Even Caleb Hague’s interception at the Memorial 42 with 5:13 to play yielded nothing as the Huskies threw four incomplete passes and the opportunity to get back in the game was gone.  Sophomore AJ Wheeler did manage to move the club from the North 20 to the Memorial 17 in the game’s waning moments, but the effort came up short with an interception in the Tiger end zone.

LESSONS LEARNED

First half success does not guarantee second stanza results.  An offense based upon misdirection and finesse can be thrown out of synchronization by effective defensive line play.  Without a consistent passing game to force the defense to line up in formations ‘outside of the box’, stringing together multiple first downs may become an issue.

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