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North Huskies vs Memorial Tigers - at Enlow Field Aug 25, 2023

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Offense

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Defensive Stats

Game Recap

WEATHER WITHERS HUSKIES IN 17-0 LOSS TO TIGERS

The North Huskies’ offense wilted in the near 100-degree heat during a 17-0 loss to the Memorial Tigers.  In nine possessions, the Green and White could sustain but one drive that had as many as two first downs.  North crossed midfield into Memorial territory just three times on the night and only once did they penetrate the Tigers’ 30-yard line.

For the most part, the Husky defense represented itself well as two of Memorial’s scores came as a result of either a turnover or a crippling penalty.  The run defense was stellar as the Tigers were held to just 48 yards rushing on 26 attempts.  Memorial capitalized on opportunities when they presented themselves and the Huskies did not.

ANOTHER NIGHT OF CRITICAL PENALTIES

North’s opening drive began as expected.  With a full compliment of players, the offensive line opened holes for senior Cainen Northington to run in and the Huskies made it across midfield.  A 15-yard penalty for an illegal block quickly killed the drive and forced a punt from the North 39.

The Tigers moved out toward midfield on a pair of short screen passes before senior Delshan Davis broke through the line and tackled a runner for a four-yard loss to stall the drive.  A deep punt rolled dead at the North 13 and put the Huskies in poor field position.  Memorial would punt the ball inside the North 15-yard line four times on the night and the affect on the Husky offense was chilling on what was otherwise a ‘blast furnace’ of an evening.

North went three-and-out and Memorial got the ball back at their 40-yard line.  They faced ‘third and long’ after juniors Luke Grayson and Matthew Peagram dropped a runner in the backfield on second down.  A 16-yard pass to their elite wide receiver became a 31-yard gain to the Husky 28-yard line when a facemask penalty was tacked onto the end of the play.

A razzle-dazzle pass-off-of-a-reverse play out of the ‘wildcat’ formation resulted in the Husky defensive backfield being caught out of position and a wide-open wide receiver caught a pass in the end zone for Memorials first score of the game.

FIRST QUARTER FROM HELL

The temperature was well over 90 degrees despite an 8pm start time (to ‘avoid’ the heat—a phrase that anyone who was present would quickly laugh at) and for North it was both figuratively and literally the first quarter from hell.  In addition to the pair of 15-yard penalties in the game’s opening minutes, when the Husky return man fumbled the kickoff after Memorial’s first score it felt like a killing blow to the North’s chances.

Starting at the 27-yard line, the Tigers were certainly in control of the game. When senior Kasey Hospelhorn blew into the backfield and sacked the quarterback for a seven-yard loss on first down, it appeared the Huskies might ‘weather the storm’.  Memorial converted a third-down-and-14 situation with a pass to the Husky seven to give them first-and-goal.  Delshan Davis and fellow senior Mojo Shaffer then dropped a runner for a three-yard loss and senior Keonta Barton defended a pair of passes in the end-zone to force a short field goal attempt.  The quarter ended with the Tigers up 10-0 as the kick split the uprights.

THE TEMPERATURES TAKE A TOLL

This was a game that took longer to play than most and it took longer to play on a night when the conditions were brutal.  The two teams threw a combined total of 60 passes of which 36 fell incomplete.  Every time a pass is incomplete, the clock stops.  The two teams combined for 20 penalties and every time a penalty is called, not only does the clock stop, but the referees take time to confer on the cause and then to march off the yardage required.  As a result, on a night when the heat index approached 100 degrees, the players were on the field much longer than would normally be expected.

For North, the consequences of that extended period were substantial.  Two starting offensive linemen were forced to seek medical assistance and taken to the hospital at half-time.  A decision was made to limit Husky linemen from working on both offense and defense in concession to the weather conditions.

TERRIBLE FIELD POSITION

North’s offense stalled with the exit of its starting offensive line and by the poor field position it was put in by the Memorial punting game.  Starting with eight minutes to play in the second quarter, the Huskies had the following starting field positions:

• Possession 1:  North 5-yard line—ends with punt from North 31

• Possession 2:  North 20-yard line—ends with punt from North 29

• Possession 3:  North 7-yard line—ends with failure to convert fourth down at Memorial 25

• Possession 4:  North 19-yard line—ends with punt from North 25

• Possession 5:  North 36-yard line—ends with punt from North 37

• Possession 6:  North 16-yard line—ends with interception at North 31

 THE DEFENSE REPRESENTS

For their part, the defense played effectively in the second half.  The only score came after a receiver—who was well covered with a defender right upon him—made a spectacular catch and picked up 51 yards to give Memorial a first down on the North 4-yard line.  The linebacker corps of Luke Grayson, Matthew Peagram, and fellow junior Austin Bell were ever present and prevented Memorial’s repeated screen passes from doing substantial damage.  The defensive front four of seniors Jayden Hazelwood, Kaleb Harris, Delshan Davis, and Mojo Shaffer were relentless against the run and forced the Tigers to rely upon the passing game for their limited success.

THE TIGERS WERE PREPARED

But the story of the night was the combination of the heat’s impact on the Huskies’ offensive line and the defensive scheme deployed by the Tigers.  North was able to run for positive yardage regularly, but there was no daylight to the outside for them to break loose in.  The Tigers’ front seven forced every run back into the center of the field where pursuit could bring down a runner.  Even when the starting offensive line left the game, the underclassmen who filled in for them were able to open holes for the backs to gain yards, but the Tigers’ defensive scheme was designed to bend-but-not-break.

And to that end, they did their job effectively and North was a beaten foe on a day in which the heat and the self-destructive penalties tipped the scales in the favor of their opponent.

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