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North Huskies vs Harrison Warriors - at Romain Stadium Sep 02, 2022

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Offense

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Game Recap

SPECIAL TEAMS AND DEFENSE COME UP BIG IN 43-20 BLOWOUT OF HARRISON

The North Huskies blew open what was expected to be a close game in the second quarter and went on to defeat the Harrison Warriors 43-20 Friday night.  Once the defense was able to provide great field position for the offense, the Huskies put three straight scores on the board and never looked back.

MITCHELL GETS THINGS STARTED

The first quarter saw the two teams exchange five punts with each squad gaining just a single first down.  That would change following a Husky defensive stand in which junior safety Kasey Hospelhorn made a brilliant open field tackle on a receiver and Harrison was forced to punt from their 17-yard line.  Junior Keonta Barton’s 30-yard punt return to the Warrior 20 was negated by a block-in-the-back penalty, but the Huskies retained the ball at midfield.

It wasn’t until North faced a fourth-down-and-seven situation that the offensive line finally solved the labyrinth of stunts and blitz packages that the Warrior defense had been presenting to them since the game’s start.  Quarterback Jaylonn Mitchell lined up in shotgun formation with a running back to his left and brought the wide receiver in motion towards the right prior to the snap.  The defense began shifting in the same direction and continued to do so when Mitchell faked a handoff to the back.  The left side of the offensive line blocked down and to the right following flow of the play.  Junior Timothy Dixon’s block of the nose-guard moved the defender well into the defensive backfield and junior Kylen Hazelwood effectively sealed off the tackle.  As those two did so, sophomore Ben Brasher and senior Chase Reeves pulled and moved down the line in the opposite direction.

Brasher’s punishing block on the remaining defensive lineman opened a hole through which Reeves cut up field as a lead blocker and engaged the middle linebacker.  Mitchell, having only faked handing the ball off, tucked the ball under his left arm and jetted through the opening behind Reeves.  Two defenders converged on the fleet footed quarterback eight yards down field but the speed with which Mitchell was accelerating prevented them from tackling him.  The result was a 47-yard touchdown run and senior Mitchell Renfro’s extra point made it 7-0 early in the second quarter.

SECOND QUARTER BELONGS TO THE DEFENSE

Certainly, the offense managed to ring up 17 points in the second period, but they did it primarily based upon the great field position that the defense was able to give them.  When the Warriors took over at their 40-yard line, the defense manhandled Harrison and forced them to punt from their 23.  On first down, junior Cainen Northington dropped a runner for a loss, on second down junior Kaleb Harris sacked the quarterback for a huge loss, and on third down Hospelhorn nailed a receiver with a bone jarring hit that forced an incompletion.  A fierce rush of the punter resulted in a short punt out of bounds near the Harrison 40-yard line—exactly where the possession had begun!

POUNDING ON THE GROUND

The Husky passing game would struggle throughout the game—finishing the night with four completions on 18 attempts—but the offensive line was able to ‘keep the train rolling’ throughout the remainder of the game.  Following a first down incompletion, six consecutive running plays chewed up yards as Kaleb Harris finished off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run out of a ‘Wildcat’ formation.  Sophomore Alex Hess’ first of the two extra points he would make in the game extended the lead to 14-0.

HESS PLAYS A BIG ROLE

It wasn’t just the defense that proved to be vital to the successes of the offense.  The special teams play on Friday night was a big factor in the victory.  The Huskies had begun the game with a pair of ‘squib’ style kickoffs to reduce the likelihood of Harrison’s breakaway return men from producing big gains or scores.  As a result, the Warriors first two possessions had begun in comparatively good field position.

There’s another way to thwart a return game—kick the ball into the endzone so it cannot be returned.  Hess’ next three kickoffs did just that and as a result, Harrison had to begin at their 20-yard line rather than 15-20 yards further out.  On the night, the long-legged sophomore would average over 56 yards per kickoff and the impact on Warrior fortunes was noticeable.

DEFENSE COMES UP BIG—AGAIN

Junior defensive tackle Jayden Hazelwood was chosen All-Conference by the SIAC coaches as a sophomore when he was “a little guy” at just 6’1” and 290 pounds.  This season he stands 6’3” and weighs 320 and sometimes it just doesn’t seem fair for the opponent offensive linemen.

…or their running backs.

On first down, Hazelwood dropped the runner in the backfield.  On second down, the big junior blasted his way past a double team and over another blocker to pummel the same runner—who left the game for a few plays after the hit.  Jayden had made his presence known with great effectiveness.  The Warriors would only attempt three more running plays over the next FIFTEEN minutes of game time.  It was apparent that Harrison knew they would achieve no success in that area of the field.

Special teams play again told the story when a huge rush up the middle on fourth down forced a punter to run rather than kick the ball.  Northington rushed to contain the runner and forced him out short of the first down marker.  The Huskies had the ball at the Warrior 29 with under three minutes to play in the half.

MITCHELL RENFRO’S BIG NIGHT

Special teams are just that:  they serve a “special” purpose be it punting, kicking, or covering opponent opportunities to do the same.  Senior Mitchell Renfro has proven to be one of the most reliable kickers in Husky history.  He entered the 2022 season already ranked #5 all-time among North kickers in scoring and, provided the Huskies’ success continues in a similar fashion, could end up in the top three all-time.

In the 65-year history of the program, only one kicker had managed to put nine points through the uprights in a single game (Brent Seibert in a 63-0 blowout of Mayfield High School in 2004) and just seven had ever managed two field goals in a single game (Zac Turi class of 2014).  Renfro would join both Turi and Seibert on Friday night.  His first field goal came from 39 yards to put North ahead 17-0.

JOHNSON RECORDS A DOUBLE-SACK POSSESSION

The final Harrison possession of the half started with just 42 seconds on the clock, but it seemed to last an hour.  Penalties and protracted discussions by what seemed to be a confused officiating team regarding how to enforce them after they had thrown the flags led to delays of minutes between plays.  Senior Cale Johnson refused to become unfocused by the duration of the discussions.  He dropped the quarterback for a five-yard loss to set up third and very, very long.  Keonta Barton and Northington stopped a receiver short of the first down marker and forced a punt.

Johnson then rushed straight up the middle and got a hand on the punt to deflect it.  The wobbly ball came down barely four yards past the line of scrimmage where the officials, after a five-minute discussion, ruled a North player had touched the ball and determined that the Warrior who downed the ball actually had possession of it.  They then gave the ball back to Harrison.

The senior defensive end, undeterred by the comedy of indecisiveness committed in the half’s closing moments by the officials, then teed-off on the first snap of the new possession and effectively ended the need for further discussion by sacking the quarterback again to end the half.

SECOND HALF

The third quarter saw Harrison give up completely on the running game—they passed on 14 of their 13 plays in the period and completed eight of them.  Following North’s opening seven play, 70-yard drive to open the half (punctuated by a 22-yard touchdown run by Angelo St. Louis following a 23-yard gain by Mitchell), the defense gave up its lone touchdown of the game.  On second and ten from their 32, the Warriors lined up with three receivers to the right.   The Huskies’ backfield lost track of their assignments and the result was a 68-yard touchdown pass reception.  Other than that mis-read, the starting defense would not yield a score in the contest.

HOSPELHORN’S ‘BEST’ GAME

Each week seems to feature another player who emerges as a critical component of North’s success.  While there were many stars on Friday night, junior Kasey Hospelhorn was on center stage throughout the victory.  He intercepted a pass and recorded an open field tackle-for-loss in the first quarter.  He stalled a drive and forced a punt with a ferocious hit in the second period.  He broke up a pair of passes in the third period, but no play was bigger than his punt block in this quarter. 

The Warriors had finally managed to stymie the North offense at midfield but were forced into a three-and-out of their own at the 50.  If their kicker could get off a good punt, the Husky offense would be forced to start a possession in front of their own goal posts.  Hospelhorn flew through the line, blocked the kick, and North’s offense took over at the Harrison 24.  It took just three plays for Angelo St. Louis to post his second touchdown of the game and North led 31-6.

NOT-SO-SPECIAL TEAMS

Where the Huskies got exemplary special teams play throughout the night, the same could not be said for the Warriors.  Hess’ ensuing kick made it to the two-yard line but a Harrison returner stepped out of bounds after receiving the ball.  That possession ended with a Northington interception and 19-yard return to the Harrison 28.  Allowing two punts to be blocked and a downed kickoff return at the two is a nightmare scenario for any special teams coach.

While the Husky second-team offense could not take advantage of the scoring opportunity and turned it over on downs, the Warrior punter soon found himself punting from his own end zone.  Senior Dylan Haynes had combined with juniors Delshan Davis and Kaleb Vashon to move Harrison ‘backwards’ on three straight running plays into the middle of the line.  As he stood near the back of his end zone, the punter had to be contemplating the rush that Hospelhorn and Johnson had produced up the middle on two of his prior efforts.  He narrowly escaped a third such fate but shanked the kick and the ball rolled out of bounds at the Harrison 22.  Four plays later, Renfro’s record tying 37-yard field goal made the score 34-6.

THE FRONT SEVEN ARE STOUT

Hess’ kickoff came down at the five-yard line and sophomore Jason Rucker dropped the return man at the 13.  Special teams play once again proved to be the biggest factor in the game, but that is not to say the other groups did not play well.  The offense seized on opportunities and, as a result, produced five touchdowns.  The defensive front seven repeated a performance that foes are becoming accustomed to:  you need to look for your yardage somewhere other than via the run. 

On the night, North would hold Harrison to NEGATIVE 28 yards rushing on 20 attempts.  On the season, the Huskies have allowed just 82 yards on 76 rushes—an average of ONLY 1.1 yards per carry.  The front four sustained a mighty loss Friday when tackle Cade Edmondson went down with what looked to be a significant knee injury in the second quarter, but by all appearances, his replacements are capable of providing near the same level of performance.

Following an exchange of penalties that resulted in a Warrior first down at the eight, senior Dashaun Horne and Joseph ‘Mojo’ Shaffer dropped a runner for a loss at the 2-yard line.  Horne and Dylan Haynes held a runner to a short gain on second down.  On third down, Haynes made initial contact with the quarterback in the backfield but slipped off the contact.  There was little need to worry, though, as Jayden Hazelwood came crashing over the top of two red jerseys with a powerful lunge to plant the hapless passer face first into the sod of the end zone.  The play was ruled a safety and North led 36-6 with five minutes to play in the game.

THE OFFENSE ENDS THE SUSPENSE

A bizarre 43 seconds of play followed in which Harrison picked off a Husky pass and returned it for a touchdown and then a ‘pooch’ style kickoff was recovered by the Warriors at the Husky 15.  Harrison scored when a confused under-study defensive backfield lost track of a wide receiver and suddenly the game was 36-20.  The Warriors attempted an on-side kick and sophomore Matthew Pegram stopped the cycle of misplay for North with a recovery at the 46-yard line.

The first team offense returned to the game and drove the ball downfield in five plays with Mitchell and St. Louis alternating carries for substantial gains.  St. Louis went the final six yards with three minutes to play and the final margin of the game was determined at 43-20.

THE GOOD AND THE BAD

It’s easy to acknowledge what went well Friday.  Obviously, the special teams play, the running game, and the defensive front seven had sterling outings—again.  What has to be a worry as Reitz comes to visit is the suspect play of North’s passing game:  both on offense and defense.  North is averaging just 4 yards per attempted pass and completing just 42% of their passes.  Husky opponents are ringing up nearly 200 yards per game passing and as bad as that sounds, there have been more than a couple long passes in each game in which North has benefited from open receivers either being overthrown or dropping sure fire touchdowns.

With the schedule featuring Reitz and Mater Dei at Bundrant Stadium for two of the next three Fridays, the passing game and the pass defense will surely be tested.   There will certainly be the same sort of innovative stacks and stunts that Memorial put up in the second half and Harrison ran with effectiveness early in Friday’s game.  It will take a more balanced approach on both sides of the ball for the Huskies to continue their winning ways.

But it sure feels good to see the home team at 2-1 in a wide open SIAC!

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