Back

North Huskies vs Bosse Bulldogs - at Enlow Field Sep 26, 2019

Game Stats    Game Recap   

Offense

Team Stats

Defensive Stats

Game Recap

NORTH OVERWHELMS BOSSE IN SECOND HALF, WINS 34-20

The Huskies overcame a 13-point first half deficit on their way to a 34-20 victory over the Bosse Bulldogs.  When the game hung in the balance, there were a handful of players who stepped up and made the biggest plays of the night.  Those players tipped the balance of two evenly matched teams into the favor of the Huskies as North outscored the Bulldogs 20-0 in the second half.

An exciting mix of seniors, juniors, sophomores, and even freshmen contributed to North’s third victory of the season.

FIRST QUARTER SURPRISE

The Bulldogs got a first quarter gift when a rare shanked punt from North gave Bosse the ball at the Huskies’ 44-yard line.  Despite seniors Jake Townsend and Tyler Gillman each providing tackles for loss, a red and gray receiver broke a tackle near the sideline and turned a short gain into a 36-yard play that carried the ball to the one.  Bosse took a 6-0 lead two plays later.

OFFENSE GETS ON TRACK

The big green machine that had been chewing up opposition defenses had sputtered in their first two possessions, but the Bosse score brought some liveliness to the Husky offense.  Sophomore Ethan Brawdy (on his way to the fourth highest single game passing yardage in school history) hooked up with senior Dylan McKinney on a pair of passes and North was quickly in front of Bosse’s goal posts.  The Huskies handed the ball to senior J.T. Skinner on four consecutive running plays and North battered their way into the end zone.  Senior Alex Ozete converted the first of four extra point attempts on the night and North led 7-0 as the game entered the second quarter.

A DRIVE STALLS AT THE FOUR

The defense regained its footing and forced a Bosse punt and the Huskies began another drive from their 20-yard line.  Brawdy connected on four consecutive passes to move the ball inside the Bulldog ten yard line.  This time, however, it would be the Bosse line that stiffened, and the drive ended with a fourth and goal sack of Brawdy at the 10.

SPEED GETS CAUGHT BUT NOT BEFORE THE DAMAGE IS DONE

On the evening, the Husky defense would hold the Bulldog rushing game in check.  When the final stats were totaled Bosse would gain just nine yards on the ground during the game on 18 attempts.  With North dominating the defensive line of scrimmage, Bosse was forced to go to the air if they wanted to compete.

After having completed a 36-yard pass on their first scoring possession, they returned to the well on this drive.  On second down at their 10, they floated a short pass into the flat on the left.  Another missed tackle by a defender allowed a fast runner to gain some room and begin a sprint to the end zone.  It appeared no one could stop him.  As he crossed the North 40, however, a white and green jersey began to make up ground on the runner.

Junior Capoleton Presswood flew like he had wings, closed the gap and managed to trip up the runner at the 10-yard line.  It was as impressive a display of speed and guts as has been seen in the North defensive backfield in quite some time.

Unfortunately, the damage was done and with first and goal at the five, it took Bosse little time to go up 13-7.

PICK SIX

Brawdy’s development as a starting quarterback has been unparalleled in North’s recent history.  Certainly, it is a fact that no underclassman in school history has ever thrown for more yards, as many touchdowns, or maintained as high an NCAA passer rating than the young sophomore.  But when you put a ball in the air, three things can happen and two of them are not good.

Having strung together seven consecutive completions, Brawdy’s next pass into the right flat ended up in the wrong hands.  Whether there was miscommunication between the receiver and the quarterback is hard to tell, but the net result is that a Bosse defender intercepted the pass and had a straight line toward the end zone for a 62-yard return.  Bosse now led 20-7 with just two minutes to play in the first half.

ANOTHER STRING STARTS

There’s an old saying that goes something like the best thing you can do after getting thrown from a horse is to get back up on that horse and ride it.  When North got the ball back after the pick-six, the Huskies again went to the air on the strength of Brawdy’s arm.  Working quickly without a huddle and alternating handoffs to Skinner on running plays and passes to a variety of receivers, the Huskies passed their way back downfield.

During this drive, Brawdy would begin another streak of consecutive completions.  The third pass in that streak was a 23-yard strike to Dylan McKinney with under a minute to play in the half.  The Huskies were ‘back in the game’.

SKINNER COMES OUT ON FIRE

Trailing 20-14 at half, the Huskies came out on defense and J.T. Skinner was ready for action.  Following a failed on-sides kick by North, Bosse had the ball at midfield.  After the Bulldogs got an easy first down on their first play, they were well into Husky territory.

Skinner then took over the game for a while.  On first down he blew through the line and tossed a runner for a bruising six yard loss.  On second down he contained a running play to the inside where senior Chunka Crowe could hold the runner to a short gain.  On third down Skinner uprooted a runner and threw him down at the line of scrimmage to force a punt.

THE HALLMARK OF A GOOD TEAM

Bosse and North are viewed as similar football teams.  The evidence to this point would suggest that to be the case.  With the score at 20-14 in Bosse’s favor, it would be hard to argue otherwise.

But… there is a huge difference in the two.  North’s offensive line in combination with excellent skill possession players can put together long, time consuming drives that wear down an opponent defense.  Bosse can’t.  North can string together consecutive first downs that take the spirit out of an opponent.  That is the Hallmark of a good team because it requires precisely that.

In order to sustain a ten play drive, 11 players have to be ‘in step’ with one another.  A single miscue by one player can end a drive just as quickly as it began.  Good teams can avoid that single miscue for extended periods of time.  On good teams, everyone knows their role and executes.  Good teams have discipline and confidence.

The Huskies are a good team.

Starting at their 20-yard line, North put together a ten play drive that consisted of five runs and five passes.  Three different ball carriers picked up yards on the drive.  Brawdy distributed the five passes between three different receivers.  North converted three third downs on the drive and ate up five minutes on the clock.

The Bulldog defenders were bent over with hands on knees between plays when North arrived at the eight yard line.  Brawdy took the snap, faked a handoff into the line, stepped to his right, and tossed the ball to McKinney at the goal line.  Ozete’s extra point kick gave North a lead it would not relinquish in the game.  The touchdown reception marked the 8^th of McKinney’s season—which ties him with All-Time single season touchdown reception leader Brandon Stewart (2005 season).  If he were to catch another this season, he would hold the record outright.

THE BATTLE HAS JUST BEGUN

Another failed on-sides kick by North gave Bosse the ball near midfield.  Skinner came out on defense and batted down a first down pass at the line of scrimmage.  The action had the affect of making the Bosse quarterback hesitant to fire a ball directly across the line.  His second and third down passes were ‘rainbows’ that sailed high and North defensive backs kept receivers in tight check.  Bosse was forced to punt away and got the benefit of a 50 yard punt that rolled dead at the Huskies’ 14.

It required a nine play drive just to get the ball back to midfield and North brought in Ozete to punt.

THE EPIC FOURTH QUARTER OF A GOOD FOOTBALL TEAM

Ozete had not had the best night punting the ball.  Trying to angle the ball away from the excellent Bosse return men had resulted in some short kicks.  Football games are won by the virtue of execution on the part of every player.  No role is unimportant on a football field.  As he lined up to punt from the North 49, with only a one-point lead to start the fourth quarter, the Huskies could not afford another short punt.

Ozete got this one perfect.  As his kick spiraled downfield, it needed to land short of the end zone to keep Bosse from getting the ball at the 20.  It needed to be high enough that North’s coverage team could get down field to corner the Bulldog return man.  It needed to be close to the out of bounds line so that the runner had fewer options of escape available to him.

The ball hung up in the air ‘forever’ and came down into the hands of a Bulldog at the nine yard line barely ten feet from the out of bounds line.  With nowhere to run but his right, it fell to junior Robert Pollard and senior Alex Smith (who seems to be everywhere on a football field when a big play is needed) to corral the runner.  The two Huskies overwhelmed him and dropped the runner for a loss back to the three yard line.

The explosive Bosse offense was bottled up in front of their goal line and ended up punting out of their end zone.

HIGH TIDE FOR THE BULLDOGS

North got the ball at the Bosse 27 but was unable to ‘put the game away’.  A pair of bad snaps back-to-back zeroed out the Huskies chances and they turned the ball over on downs at the Bosse 12.

On this night, against North’s defensive line, Bosse could not run the ball.  They could, however, pass the ball down the field.  Completing six of seven consecutive passes they worked themselves to the North 26 and seemed on the verge of taking the lead back with just five minutes to play.

That plan, of course, failed to consider the heart and soul of the North defense.  Presswood defended a first down pass.  Junior Brody Tichenor sniffed out a screen pass and dropped a receiver in his tracks for a short gain.  Pollard bottled up a receiver in the flat and kept him from crossing the first down marker.

It was fourth and one at the 26 with 5:38 to play.  North led by just one point and there was a feeling in the air that if Bosse converted, they would then go in for what could be a game winning score.

The Bulldogs lined up ‘heavy’ to their right.  Their monstrous sized right tackle had an end to his right side, and another huge H-back lined up on his other hip.  It was evident that they were going to hand the ball to their biggest runner and run behind their biggest players in order to pick up the vital yard.

A GAME OF INCHES

Folks like to talk about big plays.  Folks remember the 80 yard kick returns, the 70 yard pass plays, the dazzling runs.  What few remember or talk about is what happens in front of those plays.  Those vital inches that are gained or lost by the effort, the sweat, the technique, and the sheer will of those who toil there are lost in a blur of action.

Skinner lined up next to junior Gage Sales with senior Tanner Jackson behind them to meet this juggernaut of huge players.  On the snap, Sales and Skinner started out low—because in the trenches battles are won down low.  Feet and shoulders and hips and legs that move fast, move explosively, and most of all stay low win against those that remain high.

Sales and Skinner fired off the ball and threw their combined techniques into the crush of bodies opposing them.  Jackson added his weight to the effort and the Bosse line was pushed back a few inches.  When the runner got the ball, he was face to face with the backside of the H-back in front of him.  One white jerseyed arm slid around one blocker and another white jerseyed arm slid around a blocker on the other side. 

They were the arms of Sales and Skinner coming from opposite sides of the carnage of bodies for a reckoning that was taking place mere inches from where the play had begun.   The runner could not escape and Skinner brought him to ground.  What had been ‘high tide’ moment a second ago became a moment of disappointment for the red clad bulldogs.  Sales and Skinner and Jackson had turned the tide and denied them that valuable few inches of real estate.

TO GO FROM GOOD TO GREAT

There are plenty of good football players in North history and this team certainly has its share of them.  Many are described herein.  There are few players who have the ability to transcend that moment of highlight and sustain it for many plays at a time.  There are few players who can simply take over a game and just go ‘win it’.  Those are the ‘great’ players in North history.

On Friday night, Dylan McKinney added his name to that Parthenon of great players that have worn the Green and White.

With the hard-earned battle in the trenches on defense yielding the ball for North at the 29-yard line, North changed tactics.  The Big Green Machine chose to ‘ride it’s horse’—that is, they gave Dylan McKinney the support he needed to take over the ball game.

Down two starting offensive linemen due to fatigue and injury, North’s ability to run the ball had been hampered.  For their part, the passing game had provided enough momentum to gain North a lead.  But with 5:32 to play, it was time for the ‘spirit breaker’, and the line was called upon to provide some creases for McKinney to run through.

McKinney got his creases and simply took over the game.  On first down he gained 12 yards and another first down.  The next play he gained five tough yards.  A holding penalty threatened to derail the entire drive and North faced first down and 20.  McKinney picked up the first down in a matter of two plays.

Riding Dylan’s slashing runs down the field, North’s ‘horse’ carried the ball eight straight times.  The defense knew exactly what was going to take place.   There was no attempt at subterfuge, no deception, no ‘mixing it up’ in football parlance.  North lined up and handed the ball to 21 eight times in a row.

#21 gained 71 yards on those eight carries and the last 14 made the score 27-20 with under two minutes to play.  Only a missed extra point left the outcome in doubt.

A FRESHMAN MAKES THE OUTCOME NO LONGER IN DOUBT

North ‘squibbed’ the ensuing kickoff to try and keep the ball out of the hands of Bosse’s speedy returners.  On a night when sophomores, juniors, and seniors alike would make their respective contributions, it fell to a freshman with a heads-up nose-for-the-ball to make the play that sealed the victory.  As the squibbed kick bounced high in the air and a Bosse defender bobbled it, Cale Johnson, the only freshman on the field, batted the ball down to the ground and fell on it.  Wrapping it tightly to his body, giving away 25 or more pounds to everyone who tried to take it away, Johnson came up with the ball when the whistle blew.  North had the ball at the Bosse 42 with 1:45 to play.

McKINNEY ADDS ANOTHER ONE

Two plays later, trying to run out the clock, Brawdy handed the ball of to McKinney to run straight into the line.  Keeping with a theme, the senior used his slashing, high-knee-action running style to shake first one tackler and then another.  The defense was demoralized by the turn of events and McKinney had a full stride on everyone as he broke into the secondary.  42 yards later North led 34-20 and the Huskies sewed their victory shut.

BACK TO TOP