Back

North Huskies vs Floyd Central Highlanders - at Ron Weigleb Stadium Nov 7, 2025

SECTIONAL TITLE

Game Stats    Game Recap   

Offense

Team Stats

Defensive Stats

Game Recap

FOURTH QUARTER SLIDE SINKS HUSKIES 15-10 IN SECTIONAL FINAL

Kicking game woes continued to haunt the Huskies in a 15-10 loss in the Sectional Final to Floyd Central.  North dominated the Highlanders throughout the first three quarters of play—holding Floyd Central to just 80 yards of total offense to that point.  Their only touchdown had come on a blocked punt they recovered in the end zone—the fourth blocked punt against the Huskies in the 2025 season.

The Huskies were done in by three plays in short succession with just seven minutes remaining in the game that resulted in the final outcome of 15 to 10.

19 PLAY OPENING DRIVE

The Huskies received the opening kickoff and demonstrated exactly why they had journeyed to eight wins on the season and a berth in the Sectional Championship game.  The powerful Husky offensive line composed of juniors Jaxon Schmitt, Ben Smith, Zerin Wood, and Carson Conley, sophomore Ike Elmer, and senior Kaimen Parson had enabled North to average 250 yards rushing per game throughout the season. 

Friday night, they came up against a group of defenders equally big as the Huskies and, from the start, it was apparent that North had the better line.  While no individual play went for more than nine yards, the line cleared the way for Hunter McKinney and ‘Q’ Pauley to hammer away for SIX consecutive first downs in a 19-play opening drive to the end zone.  The Huskies converted three third downs and only resorted to the pass once on the possession that took 10 minutes and 30 seconds off the clock.  McKinney plunged in from the two-yard line with 1:30 left in the first quarter and junior Stuart Land kicked the extra point to give North a 7-0 lead.

HIGHLANDERS FORSAKE RUNNING GAME

Entering Friday night, the Husky defense was yielding opponents just 65 yards rushing per game.  Floyd Central featured a running back who had already gained over 1,500 yards rushing on the season—the Unstoppable Force was about to run into the Immovable Object.

At the end of the night, the Highlanders’ feature running back would gain just 19 yards on fourteen rushing attempts—advantage Immovable Object.

Faced with third and long after Parson, senior Mike Epps, and junior Jeraden Copeland stopped them dead in their tracks, the Highlanders picked up a first down through the air.  The cycle would be repeated again—two runs that went nowhere followed by a successful third down completion—and after nine plays, the Highlanders would settle for a 23 yard field goal to make the score 7-3 with 11:38 to play in the half.

ANOTHER LONG DRIVE FOR NORTH

What worked for North on their first drive was repeated on their second possession.  Alternating doses of McKinney and Pauley with occasional sweeps by seniors T.J. Michel and Cole McBride, North again drove steadily downfield.  As before, there were no big plays, no huge gains, just steady methodical grinding down of the defense by North’s line.

Ultimately the drive stalled at the 20-yard line and, despite the heavy fog that blanketed the entire field, Stuart Land came on and easily converted a 37-yard field goal to give the Huskies a 10-3 lead with 6:56 to play.

BIG BREAK, NO BENEFIT

The game then settled down into a field position battle that resulted in multiple punts.  Senior Ricky White, Jr. dealt out multiple tackles for loss to stall Floyd Central’s advances and then he played a key role in a big break for North with one-minute to play in the half. 

After a personal foul penalty on a punt return by the Highlanders pinned them back at their 12-yard line, T.J. Michel and White both blitzed in as their quarterback dropped back to pass on second down.  The two arrived at the quarterback simultaneously and Michel stripped him of the ball.  White jumped on the fumble and North had possession at the ten-yard line.

Alas, three running plays yielded no more than five yards and, following a timeout with 28 seconds to play, the Huskies forsook an easy field goal attempt and instead chose to try a run on fourth down.  The play came up short and an opportunity to capitalize on the turnover was lost.

SECOND HALF

Floyd Central returned the opening kickoff near midfield and quickly gained a first down with a pass.  The defense stiffened and Mike Epps deflected a third down pass to force a punt.  Given their field position—deep in North territory—the punt rolled dead at the Husky 12.

OH NO, NOT AGAIN!?!?

When three running plays failed to gain more than a handful of yards, North elected to punt on fourth down.  And… for the fourth time this season, the Huskies suffered a blocked kick that rolled into the end zone and was recovered by the opponent.

With the score 10-9, Floyd Central lined up to kick the tying extra point, but Ricky White, Jr. zoomed in from the flank to block the kick.  North led with 7:31 to play in the third quarter.

PASS DEFENSE COMES THROUGH

The game settled into a repeating series of unsuccessful fourth-down-conversion attempts all coming within ten yards of midfield.  While North’s offense was seeking to regain its momentum from the first half, Floyd Central abandoned the run game altogether.  At this point, seniors De’Amontey Layne, Aman Kincaid, Darian Walker, and Michel all displayed their prowess in coverage.  The Highlanders would attempt 21 passes in the game, completing just five, and only two of those completions came in the second half.  North’s defensive backs were everywhere—deflecting passes away, smothering receivers in coverage, and denying Floyd Central first downs.  On the final play of the third quarter, Mike Epps batted down a pass before it ever crossed the line of scrimmage. 

North took over at midfield as the game entered the FOURTH QUARTER and appeared ready to apply the coup-de-grace to Highlanders.

McKINNEY HITS A MILESTONE

With Pauley having gone out early in the third quarter due to a lower leg injury, it fell to sophomore Hunter McKinney to ‘carry the load’ for the running game.  In the contest, McKinney would rush for over 100 yards for the sixth time this season and become the first sophomore in North football history to gain over 1,000 yards.  The annals of Husky football are filled with Hall of Fame runners like Cornell Garrett, Kendall O’Donnell, Derenzo Bushrod, and Deke Cooper.  None in that group ran for a thousand yards this early in their career.

DRIVE TO DISASTER

North seemed to regain its footing as they drove steadily downfield against the Highlanders.  A costly penalty served to help stall the drive when they hit the ‘red zone’.  Facing fourth-and-eight at the 13, still playing in a heavy, thick, wet fog, the call went out for Stuart Land to kick a field goal from the 20-yard line.  By all appearances the snap was on line and the hold was in place, but the Highlanders got elevation along the line of scrimmage and the kick went rocketing back the wrong direction.

THE WILDCAT

Unable to fully utilize their star running back thanks to North’s defensive scheme to hold him in check and with Husky defensive backs clogging the airways, Floyd Central decided to deploy an old-fashioned solution.  They lined up the biggest, fastest performer (a tight end on their roster) as the sole back behind the center and deploy everyone else as a blocker.

For two plays the “Wildcat” formation (as the formation is called) gained only short yardage.  On third down, however, the runner got outside of North’s containment along the home sidelines and he broke off a 32-yard run into Husky territory.

The defense again held on first and second downs but on third, the performance was repeated and Floyd Central had the ball first and goal at the North ten.  Three plays later they scored the go-ahead and eventual winning touchdown to make the score 15-10.

A two-point conversion pass fell harmlessly incomplete and North was to get one more chance to take the lead.

This time, however, the Huskies’ luck had run cold and, after utilizing their final time out, a fourth-and-two pass fell incomplete and the Highlanders snuffed out North’s comeback chances.  What had begun as a potential second Sectional Title in three seasons ended with a fourth quarter crash on a fog filled field and a long bus ride home.

 BACK TO TOP

BACK TO TOP