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North Huskies vs Reitz Panthers - at Bundrant Stadium Oct 8, 2019

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Game Recap

HUSKIES DRIVE 80 YARDS TO BEAT REITZ 17-13

The North Huskies found a way to win in a come from behind 17-13 victory over Reitz Friday night.  If success has many mothers and failure is an orphan, it was finally the Panthers’ turn to feel the sting of loneliness that goes with a last-minute loss.

Over the course of time since 2006 when North pulled an upset at the Bowl, their were several close games that ultimately had the Huskies feeling that sting.  The 2011 game in which North led 6-0 but gave up a late score to lose 7-6 comes to mind.  Two years later, the Huskies led 16-7 with four minutes to play and gave up two touchdowns.  In 2014, the teams were tied at 20 with under two minutes to play but North lost 27-20.

The series has not been as lopsided as many would have a reader believe; ultimately, though, the Huskies have been the orphans in the scenario.

Not in 2019.

REITZ MARCHES IN

The game’s early stages looked to be a repeat of recent years.  After forcing a ‘three-and-out’ on North, the Panthers went on a 12 play 56 yard drive that ate up nearly five minutes on the clock.  There was an uneasy feeling in the stands as Reitz went up 7-0 that they knew how this script read to the final act.

A NEW BAND OF HEROES

The 2019 season has been written on the backs of several familiar players.  What took place late in the first quarter of this game was the emergence of a certain set of jersey numbers taking more prominent roles in the team’s success. 

Sophomore Ethan Brawdy elevated his play to a level that was predictable in his evolution as a starting quarterback.  On this night he would enjoy one of the best passing and running nights that North has received at his position since 2010 when Max Mooney was running the offense.  He would also find another consistent target to throw to in sophomore Angus Davis.  Brawdy hit Davis along the North sideline for a 22 yard connection that got the Husky offense ‘jump started’.

While Adam Goebel, Gunnar Sales, and Jacob Guest still opened holes up front, injuries had forced the Huskies to turn to a pair of seniors to ‘step up’ as the next-man-in.  Braydon Brown took over at center and Jackson Robards stepped in at left guard.  They plugged the holes capably as North ran the ball on ten of the next eleven plays and moved the ball all the way to the Reitz nine-yard line.  Unfortunately the Panther defense stiffened and the Huskies had to settle for an Alex Ozete 26 yard field goal to make the score 7-3.

DEFENSE TAKES CHARGE

Where the defense had yielded yards begrudgingly on Reitz’ first possession, with the beginning of the second quarter the defense stopped yielding yards at all.  The Panther offense was forced to punt on four consecutive possessions with just a single first down to show for their efforts. 

The return of senior Tyler Gilman from injury had figured prominently in North’s success last week and this week was more of the same.  From dropping back in pass coverage and tackling receivers as they caught the ball to assisting sophomore T.J. Hankins stop a runner for loss on a critical third down, Gilman’s play had a big impact on the team.

The addition of senior Almonzo Anderson and sophomore Achilles Johnson to the back end of the defense also had a noticeable effect.  Anderson’s abilities to make one-on-one tackles in the open field held runners to short gains that might otherwise have gone for big gains.  Johnson’s pass coverage helped to force Reitz to pursue a ‘short gain’ approach.

GOOD COVERAGE, BAD RESULT

The only play in which the Panthers had any success in the second quarter was a big one.  With just 12 seconds to play in the first half, the Reitz quarterback threw into double coverage with his best, most perfectly placed pass of the game.  Despite two men covering the receiver, the ball was delivered into a space the size of a shoe box from 40 yards away and the Panthers got a late score.  It would prove to be their last points of the game as a two-point pass attempt was thrown out of the end zone due to coverage.

SECOND HALF

GILMAN SHUTS DOWN A DRIVE

Reitz got a huge kickoff return into North territory to start the second half.  While the defense continued to bend but not break, the Panthers made it to the North eight-yard line in six plays and had first down and goal to go.  Enter Tyler Gilman again.

On first down, the senior linebacker stopped a runner for a one-yard loss to make it second and goal from the nine.  On second down Gilman stormed through two would be blockers and dropped a runner for a five-yard loss.  A third down pass was errant and a fourth down field goal attempt from 21 yards was no good.

CAPOLETON BRINGS ‘THE WOOD’

On this special night, many players played prominent roles in North’s success that had not been featured front and center in some time.  One of those players was junior Capoleton Presswood.  His fast feet and ability to shed tacklers in traffic was just what the Huskies needed on their next possession.

The Panthers had effectively planned for North’s ‘outside’ game—the offense had been bottled up in its efforts to run outside the hash marks.  Featuring runs ‘between the tackles’, Presswood carried the ball on four straight plays and ‘put the wood’ to the Reitz defense as the Huskies moved the ball from their 28 all the way to the Panther 28.

A Reitz quarterback sack, however, threatened to stall the drive as North faced third and 12 at the 32.  Keeping with a theme, Brawdy found a way to get the first down as he passed to another ‘new face’.  Senior McCoy Walters broke open across the middle for an 18 yard gain.

Brawdy’s maturation process continued when, on fourth and goal at the two-yard line, he executed a perfect fake handoff into the line and kept the ball himself.  Scooting to his left, he ran past defenders who did not realize he had the ball and scored.  North trailed 13-10 with 4:21 to play in the quarter.

NEARLY DÉJÀ VU ‘ALL OVER AGAIN’

In keeping with the tradition of the heart break losses over the years for North, it appeared that the Huskies victory bid might come up short of its goal.  After the defense held Reitz to a punt, North moved the ball from its 16 yard line all the way to Reitz’ 24.  A fifteen play drive stalled following a loss on a bad snap and three incomplete passes.  When North turned the ball over on downs with eight minutes to play, there was a sense of dread in the air at Bundrant Stadium.

THE RETURN OF THE ‘BIG PLAY MAKERS’

With Reitz taking over at their 29, it required the re-emergence of some of the season’s leading defenders.  On first down senior Tanner Jackson and junior Gage Sales held a runner to a short gain and on second down Jackson dropped a runner for a loss.  Sales ran down a running back from behind—no small feat for a defensive tackle—after a runner broke through the line for a 12 yard gain. 

Reitz continued to run the ball and the clock wound down in what seemed to North fans as faster than fast.  With the ball near midfield, under five minutes on the clock, and facing second and six, Reitz appeared to be in command of the game. 

And then Sales stopped a runner for no gain.

And then Anderson and Johnson denied a receiver space to catch a ball.

And the Panthers had to punt.

‘THE DRIVE’

If there are moments that define a football team, this was “the one” for the 2019 Huskies.  When the punt stopped rolling, eighty yards stood between them and victory.  Eighty yards of tradition and a program steeped in lore of victories and championships stood between the Huskies and relevance in the Evansville football scene.

Brawdy hit Dylan McKinney with a pass in the flat for a 12 yard pick up on first down.  A Husky off-sides penalty quickly negated five of those yards.  Brawdy picked up six on a keeper and then hit McKinney with a short pass for a two yard gain.

The Panthers were whistled for a personal foul at the end of the play for their rough treatment of McKinney after he was on the ground.  With the ball at midfield, North soon faced third down and one at the 41.  Brawdy then began a string of five consecutive plays in which he ran the ball straight into the teeth of the Reitz defense.

On those five plays the Huskies moved the ball to the eight-yard line.  On those five plays Brawdy established himself as a true “dual threat” quarterback.  On those five plays North announced to the local football scene that the program had truly turned a corner.  On those five plays, the Huskies came of age.

T.J. Hankins carried the ball for a one yard pick up and Reitz called a timeout to catch their breath with 1:21 to play. 

Presswood got stopped for no gain and North called a timeout with forty seconds to play to plan a course of action. 

When a pass play broke down, Brawdy powered his way through the line to the two and set up fourth and goal with 15 seconds left.  North called time out to consider whether to kick a field goal for a tie or go for a game winning touchdown.

In this season of seasons, this return to relevance, this establishment of a culture, there was really no choice to make.

North lined up in the I-Formation at the two with Brawdy under center.  On the snap he pitched the ball to McKinney as he ran to his right.  McKinney tucked in behind Adam Goebel, Jacob Guest, and Alex Smith and powered the ball into the end zone with the game winning touchdown.

In the end, while the Huskies had relied on many less common faces to put them into position to win, it fell to the right side of the offensive line which has played so big a role in this season’s success and one of the most talented players to ever wear the green and white to deliver the killing blow.

And this time, it was the Huskies who found that success has many mothers and the Panthers who learned the orphaned sensation of a close loss.

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