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North Huskies vs Castle Knights - at John Lidy Field Aug 22, 2025

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Offense

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Defensive Stats

Game Recap

HUSKIES BOWL OVER KNIGHTS 33-22

The inaugural game issuing in the ‘Zac Nero Era’ for North High School football resulted in the Huskies over powering the Castle Knights on both sides of the line of scrimmage in a 33-22 victory.  Further, given the Huskies went nearly 20 years without a win on the road in Paradise, the victory marked the THIRD North win in their last four trips to John Lidy Field.

QUESTION MARKS ENTERING THE CONTEST

Entering the game, North had more question marks than answers:

• ·         An inexperienced offensive line

• ·         A quarterback with little varsity experience

• ·         A defense that featured four new faces in the front seven

• ·         A new head coach and a new offensive scheme

To face these five major questions on the road against a traditional powerhouse opponent is not an enviable task for any team to contemplate.  To say that North answered all those questions positively by the end of the game’s first half is a huge understatement.

OPENING DRIVE GIVES A “HINT” OF WHAT’S TO COME

The Huskies won the toss and chose to take first possession.  Following a touchback, the ball was at the 20-yard line as North premiered their new look offense.  Junior Jayden Jones took over at quarterback and he was joined in the backfield by sophomore Hunter McKinney and senior ‘Q’ Pauley.  Seniors Evan Garnett and Cole McBride split out wide and junior Carson Conley lined up in the slot at tight end.  The offensive line was constructed entirely of underclassmen—tackles Jason Schmitt and Ben Smith, guards Ike Elmer and Jason Bohleber, and center Zerin Wood.  This unit would produce over 300 yards of total offense, 20 first downs, and five touchdowns in the game—numbers that Castle defenses do not normally give up.

The opening drive would be the prototype for how the game would be played.  Using a blend of ‘motion’ plays with the wideouts sweeping behind the quarterback to either take or fake a handoff along with inside runs between the guards, North held the ball for over eight minutes of play.  While the drive ultimately stalled, it set the tone for the game.

RICKY WHITE RETURNS AND HE’S EVEN BETTER

Castle took over at their 20 following a North punt and it was time for a mixture of holdovers and new faces on defense to prove their merit.  The Knights strung together four first downs and moved the ball into Husky territory as the game entered the second quarter.  At that point, seniors Ricky White and Kaimen Parson had seen enough.  Castle’s first down at North’s 32 with 10 minutes to play in the half was the final first down the Knights would gain for the next 12 minutes of play.

On first down White and Parson swept over the line and dropped a runner for a six-yard loss.  On second down, White again broke through from his middle linebacker position, correctly read a screen pass, and held the receiver to a four-yard loss.  A third down pass came up short of the first down and on fourth down, White blitzed the quarterback and forced an errant throw over the heads of everyone on the field.

THE OFFENSE BEGINS TO ‘COOK’

The Huskies took over on downs and North was able to show off the aerial part of its new offense.  When two plays gained no yardage, Jones lined up in shotgun formation for the first time in the game.  Garnett split wide left and ran a simple out rout.  McBride lined up in the slot and ran a corner pattern 15 yards toward the sideline and Jones delivered a strike at the 48-yard line.  The speedy receiver hustled his way into Castle territory and North was on the move.

The Huskies never had to resort to the pass again as ‘Q’ Pauley did most of the heavy lifting from there.  On first and ten at the 34, he lined up at fullback and ran through a crease opened by Jason Bohleber and Zerin Wood, shook off the linebacker at the 30, then a safety at the 20, before being forced out of bounds at the six-yard line.  Four plays later, Jones punched a quarterback-sneak into the endzone.  Junior Stuart Land’s extra point kick gave North a 7-0 lead with 3:08 to play in the half.

GARNETT SHOWS OFF HIS NFL MOVES

Two minutes later, senior Aman Kincaid snatched his third career interception out of the air and returned the ball to Castle’s 25. With thirty-eight ticks left on the clock, the Huskies took two shots at the end zone and, thanks to a ‘circus catch’ worthy of an NFL player, senior Evan Garnett put North ahead by two scores going into halftime.

SECOND HALF

Ricky White hammered a runner for a four-yard loss on the first play of the second half and North’s stingy defense forced a ‘three and out’ for Castle.  A 50-yard punt backed the Huskies up inside their 20-yard line, but this offensive line and these skill players did not see that as a problem.  Fourteen consecutive running plays hammered the ball the length of the field.  Pauley again did the lion’s share of the running by gaining 47 yards on five carries in the drive.

The most impressive play occurred on second and nine at the Castle 18.  Lining up at tailback, Pauley took the handoff and slid behind Jason Schmitt’s “pancake block” of the tackle and Bohleber’s screening block on the linebacker to zip into the secondary.  Once there, he was met by four different Knights, but Pauley would not let his momentum be stopped.  With his legs continuing to drive and a pile of teammates behind him pushing him forward, the whistle did not blow until he was down at the one-yard line.   Two plays later Pauley put the Huskies up 21-0 with 3:12 to play in the third quarter.

JUST ONE MORE STAND SHOULD DO IT…

One more good defensive stand and the Huskies could carry a three-touchdown lead into the final period… or so the faithful hoped.

Kaiman Parsons did his best to reward the faithful. On second and ten at the Castle 35, he dropped a runner for a one-yard gain.  On third down, he caught up to a receiver in the flat and tackled him four yards short of the first down marker.  On fourth-and-four and down 21 points, the Knights chose not to punt and instead to go for the first down.

…UNTIL IT DOESN’T

A solid rush by the defensive line forced the quarterback to toss a high pass down the center of the field that was anyone’s ball to go get.  As the ball hung in the air, two Husky defenders closed on it and… missed.  A Castle receiver caught the ball behind them and zoomed to the end zone.  In the blink of an eye, the Knights had momentum to carry them.

After a missed extra point attempt that may have been partially deflected by senior T.J. Michel, the Huskies led 21-6 with 0:40 to play in the third quarter.

TWO MINUTES IN ‘HUSKY HELL’

What followed was two minutes from ‘Husky Hell.’

A kickoff return that started near the out of bounds line at the five was returned to the center of the field and downed at the seven-yard line.  As bad as that was, starting a critical possession from the shadow of North’s goal posts, things quickly got worse.  A false start penalty moved the ball half the distance to the goal.  Three running plays barely moved the ball beyond the 10-yard line and then a delay of game penalty negated those gains.

North’s punter lined up in his own end zone and despite a good snap from center, the rush up the middle was too strong and Castle blocked the punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety.  The score was now 21-8 with 10:21 to play.

As a result of the safety, the Huskies performed a free kick from their 20 and the Castle return man zipped straight through the center of the field and went 80 yards for a touchdown with 10:10 to play.  In two minutes of playing time North’s lead had gone from 21-0 to 21-15.  As far as the Knights were concerned it was “game on” at this point.

OFFENSE TO THE RESCUE

If the 2025 edition of the North Huskies had shown anything in the first 38 minutes of play, it was that you could “count on” the offensive line to get the job done.  The next possession would prove no different.  North answered with a twelve play, seven-minute drive that was a text book for new offensive coordinator Anthony Schantz’ scheme.  Sweeps to the edges balanced by hand offs up the middle and quarterback keepers drove the ball to the 10-yard line. 

The lone setback occurred following a Jayden Jones 30-yard keeper to the 29-yard line.  A dead ball foul on a North player moved the ball back out near the 40.  On the next play, however, McBride skirted the end, broke two tackles, and gained the penalty yardage back.  Four plays later, McBride caught a swing pass in the flat and it appeared he would be stopped for no gain, but, again, he broke two tackles and streaked into the endzone to give North a two-score lead.  Unfortunately, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the score resulted in a 15-yard penalty assessed on the ensuing kickoff.

OH NO, NOT AGAIN?!?!

The Huskies led 27-15 after the extra point kick was blocked and they kicked off from the 25 due to the penalty.  The ball boomed high and deep and, once again, the Castle return man caught the ball and ripped through the center of the coverage team to go 80 yards for a touchdown.  Following the extra point, North’s lead was down to just five points.

The lone fourth quarter bright spot for Husky special teams occurred when senior Derek Dean recovered an onside kickoff at the North 46 with 3:09 to play.

‘ANOTHER’ McKINNEY CLOSES THE SHOW

With plays designed to run time off the clock, the Huskies again marched downfield on a five-play drive that was aided by a pair of Castle penalties.  On first down at the 25-yard line, Hunter McKinney lined up at tailback and Parsons entered the game as an additional blocker on the left side of the line.  On the snap, Jason Schmitt drove his defender to his left with such force that the linebacker spun around backwards.  Parsons pulled from left tackle and came running down the line to obliterate the defensive tackle.  McKinney took the handoff and shouldered past the linebacker—facing backwards due to Schmitt’s block—and raced 25 yards for North’s final score.  The Huskies led 33-22 with seconds to play in the game and victory was assured.

Zac Nero’s debut as a head coach proved to be as good a change as North has witnessed.  Having been on staff for 10 years, his time had finally come to assume command of the program.  By Friday night’s results, the Huskies stayed home and selected the right man for the job.  The staff he has assembled has emphasized fundamental line play and simple schemes that high school players can excel at.  There can be no better start than making it “Husky Time In Paradise”.

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