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North Huskies vs Harrison Warriors - at Bundrant Stadium Sep 3, 2021

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Game Recap

HUSKIES PICK UP FIRST WIN 28-12 OVER WARRIORS

Playing without their three-year starting quarterback, the Huskies roared to a 28-12 victory over the Harrison Warriors Friday night.  Sophomore Sam McKinney stepped up with a pair of touchdown passes and senior T.J. Hankins scored three times in North’s first victory of the season.

The decision was not easily come by as the Huskies committed a school record 15 penalties that awarded the Warriors more yards than they could accumulate in total offense.  The North defense stood tall when it mattered and only yielded seven yards on 32 rushing attempts while recording six quarterback sacks and forcing two turnovers.

HAZELWOOD WHUPS A PAIR

All appearances were that the Warriors showed up ready to play.  A first possession pass to a running back got outside the Husky defense and carried Harrison deep into North territory.  The Husky defense stiffened and Harrison was soon facing a fourth-and-four situation at the North 26.  On the snap, both the Harrison right guard and tackle ‘double teamed’ sophomore Jayden Hazelwood.  With those two defenders dedicated to blocking the 6’3” 300-pound defender, it left a path open for junior linebacker Cale Johnson to blitz.  Johnson wasted no time in zipping toward the quarterback and forced him to pull down the football as he ducked away from the rush.

Hazelwood stripped both blockers with a powerful thrust of his arms and stepped right into the path of the Harrison quarterback and pummeled him to the ground.  The Huskies forced a turnover on downs

WARRIORS SCORE FIRST

Following a North three-and-out, a short punt went out of bounds and set the Husky defense in front of its goal posts.  It appeared the Huskies would again dodge a bullet when Harrison faced a fourth-and-eight at the North 28.  The quarterback got outside the end and scrambled for a first down at the North 17.  A Husky personal foul brought the ball to a first and goal at the nine and Harrison got on the board with the first touchdown of the game.  A bad snap on the extra point left the Warriors with a 6-0 lead.

HUSKIES ANSWER THE CALL

As the game stretched into the second quarter, North’s offense found its rhythm.  Eight consecutive running plays battered away at the Warrior defense as the Huskies rolled to the Harrison ten-yard line.  Once there, however, it appeared that a North holding penalty would stall the drive and soon the Huskies were facing their own ‘fourth-and-long’ crisis.

And then the Huskies called on Sam McKinney to throw his first pass of the game.

On fourth down and twelve at the 15, the North coaches chose not to attempt a field goal and instead placed their trust in the young quarterback.  Lining up in the shotgun formation, McKinney took the snap and did a quick three step drop.  Senior wide out Cameron Gelhausen ran a post pattern into the middle of the field and drew the lone defensive back on that side of the field to follow him.  As sophomore tight end Kaleb Harris looped into the center of the defense, the safety pulled in tight on him to defend a short throw.

Senior running back T.J. Hankins slightly delayed his exit from the backfield and then ran a wheel route to the right side and into the empty space that Gelhausen’s rout had cleared.  The linebacker on that side of the field had hesitated in his pass defense to ensure that Harris was covered by the safety and Hankins had a clear path to turn up-field along the right-hand sideline.   Cool as a cucumber, McKinney spotted Hankins running alone and delivered a perfect spiral that hit the runner in stride as he crossed the goal line.  Mitchell Renfro’s extra point gave the Huskies a lead that they would never relinquish.

STRIP SACK LEADS TO ANOTHER TD PASS

Harrison barely knew what hit them before the Husky defense forced a turnover.  Just two plays into their next possession, the North pass rush forced the Warrior quarterback to scramble to avoid a strong rush from the right-hand side.  As he reversed his field to the left, linebacker Cale Johnson turned him back inside with a fierce grab and his ankles.  By choosing to turn back inside to avoid Johnson’s tackle, the move turned him right into the path of junior Dashaun Horne—one of the defenders who had forced him to evade the right-hand side.  Horne and senior end Garrett Mooney had continued their pursuit and Horne quickly stripped the quarterback of the ball as he sacked him.  Alertly, Mooney was the first to realize the ball was loose and it was Husky ball at the Harrison 29.

McKinney’s second pass hit an open receiver in stride at the 15 but unfortunately the pass was dropped.  It wasn’t to matter, however, as facing third and 11, the sophomore’s next pass was equally well located.  With the Huskies in a double stack on the outside on both ends of the line, the Harrison defensive backs lost track of one receiver on the right side.  Senior Cameron Gelhausen was the beneficiary as he ran a post pattern into the center of the field.  McKinney spotted the 6’3” receiver and launched a rocket that landed perfectly into Gelhausen’s hands at the ten with no one near him.  North led 14-6 and appeared to be on their way to a rout.

PENALTIES, MISCUES, AND MORE PENALTIES

The Huskies mis-played the remainder of the half.  When they next moved the ball into Harrison territory, a bad snap sailed over McKinney’s head and resulted in a 21-yard loss.  When it appeared the Huskies had stalled another Harrison drive just before half-time, a quarterback sack by Hazelwood and senior Angus Davis ended up in a first down due to a face mask penalty.  Only a beautiful defensive play by sophomore Keonta Barton prevented a Harrison score when they advanced to the North red zone.

SECOND HALF

A PUNT RETURNER EXTRAORDINAIRE

After sophomore tackle Delshan Davis stuffed a runner for loss on Harrison’s first possession after the break, Harrison lined up to punt on fourth and 12.  The high kick settled into the hands of junior Jordan Hunt at the 50-yard line as two defenders converged upon him.

Sophomore Brady Martin took out one of the two defenders with a well-placed block and Hunt then juke stepped past the second into open space.  Sprinting into the center of the field, he picked up a tremendous open field block from senior Mitchell Happe and headed toward the right sideline, danced around two defenders into the end zone with an apparent touchdown.  In keeping with the theme for the night, a North block in the back behind the play at the ten resulted in overturning the touchdown and a first down for the Huskies at the Harrison 23.

A POWERFUL BACK AND A POWERFUL OFFENSIVE LINE

It took the Huskies just four plays to score—all of them handoffs inside to Hankins.  On first down, Mooney drove the nose tackle hard to his left, sophomore Timmy Dixon relocated the end somewhere far, far to his right, and Happe sealed off the middle linebacker.  Kaleb Harris obliterated the remaining linebacker and the Hankins picked up nine.  On second down, Hankins slid through a zone blocking scheme for six more and North had first and goal at the eight.

The same play that had opened the drive worked again on first and goal and only a Hankins slip at the five prevented a touchdown.  On second and goal from the three, the same play opened a hole into the end zone that a water buffalo could have followed.  North’s right side of the offensive line blew away the opposition on four straight plays and the Huskies benefitted from a 21-6 lead.

DEFENSE OVERWHELMS, HUNT RETURNS, OFFENSE STALLS

Harrison had no answer for North’s defense.  Angus Davis dropped a runner for no gain on first down, a rushed throw was dropped by a Warrior on second down, and Hankins and Horne tossed the helpless quarterback for a ten-yard sack on third down.  The Warrior punter lined up in his end-zone on fourth down and again the ball fell into the hands of Hunt just short of mid-field.  Martin again shielded Hunt from one defender and Hunt accelerated past a second one as he zipped up field.  This time the interior pursuit forced him out of bounds inside the 20-yard line and the offense was set up with a first and ten at the 18-yard line.  The drive stalled this time and Harrison took over at their sixteen.

ONE POSSESION, FORTY YARDS IN PENALTIES

The next Harrison possession was representative of the game’s third quarter.  Cale Johnson tackled a runner for loss on first down and Horne nailed a runner for loss on second down.  A dead ball foul gave Harrison a first down at their 28.  An encroachment call gave them a first and five at the 33.  Senior Achilles Johnson sniffed out a screen pass for a six-yard loss following a Harrison holding call.  Hazelwood and Davis combined for a tackle for loss and what seemed like an endless stream of yellow flags ultimately resulted in a Harrison punt from the eleven-yard line.  This time the punter sailed the ball deep into North territory (despite a running into the kicker penalty that Harrison turned down) and the Huskies took over at their 38.

PENALTY KILLS ANOTHER DRIVE

North looked to strike for the coup-de-grace on their very first play following the punt.  McKinney executed a beautiful play action fake to Hankins into the center of the line.  Nearly every Harrison defender was drawn into the center to stop the run.

Except McKinney had not handed the ball to Hankins.

Turning quickly with the ball still in his grasp, the sophomore stood tall and laced the ball to junior Jayvonn Mitchell who was running a slant pattern from his slot receiver position on the right.  The ball hit him squarely in the numbers and Mitchell raced into open field in the middle of the secondary.  At the Harrison 30 he became entangled with an official running down the middle of the field and the break in his momentum allowed a defender to catch him at the ten-yard line.  McKinney ran the ball to the five-yard line on first and goal and North looked unstoppable.  A holding penalty on the next play cost North 11 yards and the drive stalled when a Renfro 34-yard field goal attempt came up short.

HAILEY TO THE RESCUE

The Warriors benefitted from a pair of passes—their only plays for positive yardage in the third quarter of the game—and North appeared to have thwarted the threat when Harrison had another negated by a block-below-the-waist penalty.  As the game moved into the FOURTH QUARTER, this time it was the Huskies who picked up a big foul.  Following an incomplete pass that junior Jeremiah Thomas expertly defended, North was whistled for a dead ball foul at the line of scrimmage and Harrison moved into Husky territory.

Emboldened by their success through the air and frustrated by North’s run defense, another pair of passes soon had the Warriors threatening to score.  On first down at the 20, Harrison’s quarterback rolled to his right, pursued by Mitchell Happe—who had a handful of his jersey.  As Hankins closed in from the other side of the field, the desperate quarterback tossed the ball downfield.

Had the ball not floated in the air, the pass might have had a chance at completion, but as it hung there, senior Jewellz Hailey dashed straight to the toss and plucked it out of the air.  Harrison’s last ‘best chance’ to get back in the game was thwarted.

HUSKIES WIN, BUT IT DOESN’T LOOK PRETTY

North continued to dominate the game but a fourth quarter that saw them commit five more penalties for a total of 45 yards certainly took some shine off the win.  The defense held the Warriors to negative eight yards gained the rest of the game and did not allow another completed pass.  Only a 46-yard punt return for a touchdown by Harrison with four minutes to play would result in Warrior points.

The Huskies were running out the clock when Hankins broke free in the center of the field and ran 42 yards unchecked for North’s final score.  The end result was a 28-12 win for North in a game that was only close due to miscues and penalties.

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