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North Huskies vs Vincennes Lincoln Alices - at Bundrant Stadium Sep 29, 2023

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Offense

Team Stats

Defensive Stats

Game Recap

HARRIS BREAKS SACK RECORD AS HUSKIES SHUT OUT ALICES 31-0

In a show of defensive prowess and explosive offense, the North Huskies shutout the Vincennes Lincoln Alices 31-0.  The score marked the first time North’s football team produced ‘back-to-back’ shutouts since Cornell Garrett’s remarkable 1975 season in Hall of Fame Coach Morris Riley’s final year.  Over the last two weeks, the Huskies have outscored their opponents by a score of 61-0.

Leading the way in that ‘blitz’ has been senior defensive end Kaleb Harris.  Upon sacking Lincoln’s quarterback for the second time in the game during the fourth quarter, Harris assumed the title of Career Leader in Quarterback Sacks for the Huskies.  Harris recorded 3.5 ‘sacks’ as a sophomore, accumulated five more as a junior, and, so far, has 12.5 as a senior.  His career total of 21 surpassed 1995 grad John Dozier—a unanimous All-Metro performer who received Associated Press Honorable Mention All-State recognition—who collected 20 sacks as a three-year starter.

Harris, however, has not been alone in making this the toughest defense for opponents to score against in over a decade.  Lining up beside him each game has been senior Jayden Hazelwood.  Hazelwood (an All-SIAC performer as a junior) has accumulated 12 career sacks of his own—good enough for 8^th on the all-time list—to go with a remarkable 37 tackles for loss.  When opponents game plan for North this season, Hazelwood and Harris make it simple for the opposing coach:  Run the other way from those two.

THE MEANING OF THE WORD ‘RESPECT’

Lincoln’s first possession of the game Friday bore a familiar refrain:  Look out for the right side of North’s line.  Only a ‘face mask’ penalty marred the front-four’s dominance.

1. Hazelwood dropped a runner in the backfield for a four-yard loss.

2. Hazelwood and junior Luke Grayson teamed up to track another runner down for a three-yard loss.

3. Harris sacked the quarterback for a 13-yard loss.

4. The end on the ‘other side’ of the line, senior Mojo Shaffer assisted Grayson in stopping a receiver 20 yards short of the first down marker to force a punt.

For the Alices, this series of downs taught them to respect North’s ability to shut down Lincoln’s run game.

SLOW START TO GAIN A FULL HEAD OF STEAM

When Vincennes’ punt went just 16 yards, the Huskies had the ball at midfield and it took the offense a few plays to get untracked.  Junior James Mercer broke open to receive a quick pass and covert a third down but the Huskies soon found themselves facing fourth-and-ten at the Lincoln 27.  Senior Sam McKinney got excellent protection behind the offensive line and had time to wait for senior Kasey Hospelhorn cut across the middle on a post rout.  Despite his being covered by defenders in both the front and rear, McKinney delivered the ball high and Hospelhorn went up for a spectacular leap-and-catch to set up first-and-goal for North at the 8-yard line.  Two plays later, senior Timothy Dixon and junior Brady Reeves split the defense in half and McKinney dashed between them for a nine-yard touchdown.  Senior Alex Hess’ extra point set the score at 7-0.

GROUNDHOG DAY FOR LINCOLN

To summarize Lincoln’s next SIX possessions of the first half is fairly simple—all six resulted in punts and only one came from within North territory…

…and the one that came from within North territory set up one of the best stories of the day as the ball rolled dead at the Husky ONE-YARD-LINE.

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MATTER

Many players over the course of the season have received a fair amount of recognition in these pages—quarterbacks, running backs, offensive and defensive linemen, receivers, kickers, etc.  Sometimes the game of football and football teams require the best a player has to offer while that player toils in relative anonymity.  If a big, sensational, crowd-awing play is made, it is typically because another player has either drawn a double-team block and opened a pathway to the quarterback, or another team mate has made a block downfield to delay pursuit, or some other player has made a selfless gesture that enabled the greatness to be displayed. 

Such is the nature of ‘team’ sports.

Junior Luke Grayson has typified that player this season who simply gives whatever the team asks of him.  Alternately he has been asked to step in at quarterback and run for short yardage up the middle, line up at h-back and go out for short passes that will result in hard hits, play linebacker and close gaps when they open up in the middle, and line up as the fullback in the I-formation to deliver blocks against big defensive linemen that clear the way for runners who follow him.

These are not high-profile, glory grabbing assignments.  If football is a game of inches, however, these are the assignments that enable those inches to be gained.

GRAYSON ELIMINATES THE THREATS AND GETS REWARDED

With the punt having been downed at the one-yard-line, Grayson lined up at fullback in the I-formation and immediately saw the middle linebacker blitzing through the line and threatening to ‘blow up’ the run play that North had called.  Gathering up his shoulders and gaining leverage, Grayson quickly dealt with the threat and senior Cainen Northington was able to use his speed to get outside and run for 22 yards.

On the next play, with Grayson again at fullback, North ran the same play, but this time to the left.  With no blitzing linebacker to deal with, Grayson led Northington around the end and ‘pancaked’ the safety who had come up to stop the play.  Northington took off, picked up 28 yards, and North got an additional 15-yards due to a ‘horse collar’ penalty on the tackle.

In just two plays, the Huskies had moved the ball from their one-yard line to first-and-ten at the Vincennes 34—a sixty-five-yard turnaround and in large part, it was due to the ‘little things’ that Grayson brings to the table combined with Northington’s fleet feet.

Two plays later, Grayson was given the ball and asked to run ‘up the middle’ from the five-yard line.  With his usual workmanlike disposition, the junior took the handoff, put his head down, and drove forward into the line.  The play called involved a ‘trap’ block on the tackle, which ‘Big’ Ben Brasher delivered mightily; however, the middle linebacker had slipped off another blocker and stood squarely between Grayson and the goal line.  The two clashed into one another at the two-yard line.

There is something special about Luke Grayson, though, and it is that he simply does not give up.  As the blow from the linebacker came from the side, it should have been sufficient to knock the runner off balance and to his right before crossing the goal line.  Number 15, however, keeps a low center of gravity and drove forward with his legs to score the touchdown.  Maya Bagett’s kick made the score 14-0 and all the momentum belonged to North.

McKINNEY BRINGS THE POINTS

While the defense stifled the Alices for the remainder of the half (and for the game for that matter), Sam McKinney put on a display of offensive skills in the eight minutes that remained.  On one drive, he found Mercer again on a 31-yard pass reception that ultimately led to a 33-yard Hess field goal.  On the following drive, he hit Hospelhorn with a 33-yard pass that set up first and ten at the Vincennes 39 with 1:55 to play.

It appeared that the drive would stall when the Huskies were called for holding and then for a false start which moved the ball back into North territory.  Just 1:30 remained on the clock when McKinney lined up in the shotgun while standing on his own 40-yard line.  Expecting a pass, Lincoln blitzed two linebackers and dropped back five men in coverage.  Jason Rucker picked up one of the blitzers, but another came around the outside and flushed the quarterback from the pocket. 

As McKinney ran forward a defender grabbed his facemask and spun him around, but the agile senior broke the connection without going down.  Now sprinting forward past the line of scrimmage, he had the good fortune that two would-be tacklers ran into one another and as McKinney crossed the Vincennes 45, he had only one defender to beat.

He beat him by ten yards in a 45-yard foot race.  Hess’ second extra point made the score at halftime 24-0 in favor of the Huskies.

SECOND HALF

Trailing by 24, the Alices came out determined to ‘pass’ their way back into contention.  Seniors Keonta Barton, Alex Heck, and Hospelhorn along with junior Austin Bell had real feelings about that plan.  They were determined to not allow it to work.

After Hazelwood and Grayson combined to drop a runner for loss and stop the first possession for Vincennes in its tracks, Barton stopped the next one by defending a deep pass on second down and then sniffing out a screen pass and dropping a receiver for a six-yard loss on third down.

Harris batted down a first down pass at the line of scrimmage on the next Lincoln possession, Hazelwood hurried a throw on second down, and with the ball at North’s 45, everyone knew the Alices were in four-down territory.  There would be no punting this time, Lincoln was making its ‘last stand’ early in the fourth quarter.  Heck and Hospelhorn double-covered a receiver on third down, and facing fourth and long, Vincennes tried a catch-and-run play underneath the deep coverage.  Austin Bell came up and forced the runner out of bounds six yards short of the first down marker.

Vincennes’ only legitimate scoring opportunity of the second half was ended.  The Huskies added a touchdown on a pass from McKinney to junior Grant Happe and North won 31-0.  The offense, with Northington, McKinney, Mercer, and Hospelhorn providing the ‘big’ plays put up four touchdowns and a field goal.  The defense, however, was the group that earned the praise of ‘First Team in Forty-Eight Years’ to record back-to-back shutouts. 

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