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North Huskies vs Castle Knights - at Bundrant Stadium Aug 19, 2022

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Game Recap

HUSKY COMEBACK FALLS SHORT IN 28-21 LOSS TO KNIGHTS

Penalties and turnovers created a hole that the North Huskies could not climb out of in Friday’s opening night 28-21 loss to the Castle Knights.  After falling behind by three touchdowns in the first half, the Huskies found their footing and roared back to make a game of it before a fateful holding call in the fourth quarter extinguished their comeback hopes.

The Knights entered the game with an offense expected to feature their two-time All-Metro tailback but the North front seven proved to be more than capable of holding the runner in check.  On the night, Castle would rush for just 66 yards on 38 carries—an average of far less than two yards per attempt.

CASTLE GOES TO “THE AIR”

The Husky defensive backfield, on the other hand, suffered multiple setbacks—the first of which resulted in Castle’s opening score.  Following a quarterback sneak on fourth down that netted two yards and a first down at North’s 36, the Knights lined up with three receivers out wide to the left and a single man near the right sideline.  On the snap, the quarterback looked left and then chose to throw the ball deep to the lone receiver on the opposite side of the field. 

The Castle man was well covered in man-to-man coverage but appeared to benefit from a “push” that allowed for separation as the ball approached.  The separation was just enough to give him the freedom to snag the ball and the “push” forced the North defender to have to spin in the opposite direction as he would normally to regain his balance.  As a result, the receiver galloped the remaining fifteen yards into the end zone. 

After Castle’s female kicker split the uprights, North trailed 7-0 less than five minutes into the game.

WHAT WAS THE FLAG FOR?

The Huskies lined up in shotgun formation on first down after the score with senior Angelo St. Louis behind senior Jaylonn Mitchell at quarterback.  The center of the line was composed of veterans—left guard featured All-Conference selection Timothy Dixon, center was Landon Caswell, and right guard was “Big” Ben Brasher.  All three had started in 2021 when they opened enough holes for T.J. Hankins to lead the SIAC conference in rushing.

The first play of the 2022 season appeared to be a replay of last season’s highlight reel.

On the snap, Brasher hammered his man to the right and Dixon drove the middle linebacker behind Brasher.  St. Louis took the handoff and slipped into the line behind Dixon’s ferocious block.  Caswell then screened off the interior pursuit from Castle’s All-Conference linebacker and St. Louis accelerated into the secondary.

Angelo never looked back.

83 yards later he was in the end zone trailed by a handful of Knights who were way too late to the party to catch the senior running back.

Unfortunately, a jubilant North player, arms in the air and celebrating 20 yards behind St. Louis, allowed his legs to become entangled with the fifth of the five defenders trailing the runner.  As the North player fell to the ground, an official looked over and assumed the contact was a result of a block-in-the-back penalty.  Instead of a touchdown, North got the ball first and ten at the Castle 29-yard line.  Four plays later a Mitchell pass to junior Kaleb Harris fell incomplete in the end zone and North came away with no points.

DEFENSIVE MISCUE YIELDS 6 MORE PTS

Castle wasted little time going back to the air once they took over at their 32.  A series of short passes moved the ball to the North 30-yard line as they lined up first-and-ten with their quarterback under center.  Faking a play-action handoff to the running back, the Knights succeed in ‘freezing’ the Husky defensive backfield in their tracks as they ‘bit’ on the fake.  With a receiver running a drag route underneath the defensive backfield as the quarterback and the runner moved in the opposite direction, the North backfield lost track of the receiver and he was open with no one within 15 yards of him.  The Castle quarterback’s high arcing pass came down on the money and the visitors led 14-0 in the first quarter.

OPPORTUNISTIC KNIGHTS ON A ROLL

Ultimately, games hinge on turnovers and untimely penalties.  North would commit enough of both to contribute heavily to their loss Friday.  Following a defensive stand highlighted by junior Jayden Hazelwood hurrying the quarterback into an incompletion on third and long, Mitchell connected with Harris on a pass to the left side that picked up 20 yards to the Castle 29-yard line—except the ball got stripped by a defender during the tackle, picked up, and the football was returned to their 34.

Despite sophomore Luke Grayson dropping a runner for a four-yard loss on first down, the Knights again went back to the passing game for points.  Three successive passes gained 70 yards in total and the third, a 30-yard scoring pass to their running back wheeling out of the backfield and roaming downfield unaccounted-for, gave the Knights a 21-0 lead.

ST. LOUIS IS ‘THE MAN’

North has a long history of great running backs.  The last three seasons have continued the tradition with Dylan McKinney, Capelton Presswood, and T.J. Hankins all gaining a variety of post-season accolades and awards.  Angelo St. Louis gave notice on the following possession that he intends to be the next in that group.  Taking the ensuing kickoff, he darted to his left and shook off two would be tacklers in the effort.  Spotting a hole in the middle of the coverage, he cut on a dime and dashed into the center of the field.  Two defenders laid hands on him, but he simply shed the first one and then dragged the second for a few yards before shaking loose.  By the time enough Knights caught up to bring him down, St. Louis was near midfield.

The Huskies had good field position and seven minutes remained in the half.  First down saw Dixon and Laswell open up the middle and sophomore Avier Mitchell deliver a block on the middle linebacker that sprung St. Louis into the open for a 17-yard gain.  The same foursome delivered exactly the same result on the ensuing play as St. Louis broke loose for a 20-yard pickup and a first down at the Castle 19-yard line.

The drive stalled, however, when two runs to the right resulted in short gains and one into the center brought up fourth-and-one.  Following a time out, the Huskies came out in a “Heavy” package with linemen in the backfield but St. Louis split out wide to the ride.  Somehow, a defender was left unaccounted for and Harris was tackled in the backfield by Castle’s All-Conference linebacker for a six-yard loss.

FINALLY!  A NORTH SCORE!

Senior Cale Johnson dug a hole for Castle with an 11-yard quarterback sack and Castle committed multiple infractions that resulted in fourth-and-forever.  A short punt gave the Huskies the ball at midfield with a minute to play in the half trailing by 21 points.

With St. Louis already having gained over 100 yards rushing in the first half, the Huskies were able to use a play-action fake to their advantage—much as Castle had earlier in the game.  Lining up in the shotgun, Mitchell faked a handoff to St. Louis as a run to the right.  Both the defensive end and, more importantly, the safety assigned to cover slot receiver Connor Moorman moved to the right as well.  Mitchell rolled out past the end and spotted Moorman in open space at the Castle 40-yard line.  Delivering a pass that hit Moorman in stride, it enabled the senior receiver to gain a full head of speed as he angled for the right sideline.  Only a desperation tackle could bring him down at the one-yard line.  St. Louis scored on a dive into the endzone as the final seconds counted down on the half.  Mitchell Renfro’s 58^th extra point kick of his career cut the deficit to 21-7.

SECOND HALF

The Huskies opened the second half with a play that was ‘All’ St. Louis.  Running a zone-read play, the agile senior showed that he doesn’t really need a hole to run through, he just needs the ball.  When Castle appeared to blow up the play with deep defensive line penetration across the front, St. Louis used his strength to rip himself away from first one would-be tackler, then another, and another.  He ripped off 31 yards before enough defenders could get in his way and bring him down.  The drive ultimately stalled at the Castle 32 with St. Louis on the bench after having suffered cramps and an apparent injury to his left hand.

Leading by two scores, Castle began the half determined to use up the clock with a ball-control offense—seldom putting the ball in the air.  While they moved the chains and devoured six minutes off the clock, ultimately, they stalled out at the North 35 and turned the ball over on downs.

THE GAME WINNER

Penalties and turnovers will kill any ball club’s chances at winning.  Senior Sean Bennett looked sharp subbing in for St. Louis at running back and North was at midfield in just three plays. Two minutes remained in the third quarter and the Huskies looked to have momentum on their side.

And then a false start turned second-and-six into second-and-eleven.

And then a holding penalty turned second-and-eleven into second-and-twenty-six.

And then an overthrown swing pass turned into a “pick six” that gave Castle an insurmountable 28-7 lead.

HUSKIES DO NOT QUIT

The game rolled into the fourth quarter and St. Louis returned for the Huskies with the ball at their 31 and facing second and seven.  Jason Rucker took a handoff from Jaylonn Mitchell and swept to his left.  As the defense closed in, Rucker handed the ball to St. Louis on a reverse and he cut up field for the first down—only a slip prevented him from perhaps breaking free and going the distance.

On the ensuing first down, Mitchell was the recipient of a perfect pocket from which to throw.  The pocket provided by Chase Reeves, Dixon, Caswell, Brasher, and Kylen Hazelwood was a textbook thing of beauty.  Given sufficient time to view the field, the senior quarterback spotted Moorman open in a seam in the defense’s zone coverage.  Moorman hauled in the pass, spun, and made his way to the Castle 33 for a 25-yard gain.  An eight-yard pass to junior Lucas Pettit was followed by a 15-yard penalty for a hit out-of-bounds and the Huskies had first down at the Castle 12.

Caswell and Kylen Hazelwood then teamed up to open a huge gap in the center of the line and St. Louis rambled to the six-inch line before going down.  Kaleb Harris dove in for a touchdown on the next play and North was again down just two scores at 28-14 with ten minutes to play.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS—BARTON ANSWERS!

The Husky defense owned the second half against Castle’s line.  Adjustments had been made.  Defenders were gaining their footing.  Where North had surrendered over 240 yards of offense in the first half, the Huskies contained the Knights for 82 yards on 24 plays in the second half.  Following a hard fought first down at their 30, Luke Grayson dropped a runner for no gain.  Senior cornerback Jordan Hunt then provided run support on a sweep that cost Castle two yards to set up third-and-twelve: a sure fire passing down.

Junior Keonta Barton read the next play beautifully.  Originally in coverage on the outside receiver, Barton watched as the quarterback ‘locked onto’ the slot receiver with his eyes.  As the Knights’ passer wound up to throw, Barton dropped his coverage on the outside and dashed toward the inside man.  He timed the move perfectly and arrived just as the ball did.  He picked off the pass and returned it to the Castle 30-yard line.  The Huskies had the ball and over seven minutes remained to play.

THE MIDDLE PRODUCES ONE MORE TIME

St. Louis earned seven yards ‘the hard way’ on a run to the right and then Mitchell hit Pettit with a short pass to the right to set up first down at the Castle 17.  The Huskies ‘went back to the well’ with their patented inside run the allows for Messrs. Dixon, Caswell, and Brasher to split open the middle of the defense like an oyster.  Harris led St. Louis into the center of the line and then made short work of the Castle middle linebacker—St. Louis did the rest and dashed in for the score untouched.  Renfro’s kick brought the Huskies within seven points with 6:43 remaining.

THE DEFENSE’S FINAL STAND

Castle was far from done, however and moved the ball downfield into North territory through the air.  With a first down at the North 31, the situation appeared dire for the Huskies—until the Knights committed a penalty of their own that broke the momentum.  Junior Delshan Davis and Cale Johnson then teamed up to drop a runner for a loss.  On third and 16, Davis worried the Knights’ center so much with his nose-to-nose positioning that it resulted in a bad snap and a loss of a half-dozen yards.  Castle was forced to punt and the game’s final act was about to play out.

ONE LAST MISTAKE

The Huskies had the ball with three minutes to play and Angelo St. Louis bulled his way out to the 32-yard line for a first down.  The packed stadium full of Husky fans were at a fever pitch and the commotion could likely have been heard as far away as Elberfeld.  On first down, Mitchell faded back to look for a receiver but was forced from the pocket.  As he rolled to the right, a flag was thrown for a holding penalty against the Huskies and North moved back to their 15-yard line facing first down and 27 yards to go.  Four plays later, North’s chances ended with a failure to convert fourth-down-and-twelve.

In all, North outgained Castle with 379 yards of offense to their 327.  Both teams ran 60 plays.  North generated 15 first downs and Castle 17.  The two teams were effectively even in their production.  Ultimately what mattered most was North turned the ball over twice and Castle generated scores on both.  The Huskies efforts were marred by untimely penalties that ended or erased scoring opportunities.  Such is the fate of football games.

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