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North 13 Henderson 16 - Memorial Stadium Henderson Aug. 25, 2006

Game Stats    Game Recap   

Offense

                    Offensive Line Grades

Trapp              Allgood         Hawkins          Price                Turner         Lewis

 63%                  81%                84%            79%                   81%               84% 

Defense

Game Recap

For the second season in a row, the Huskies wrestled the Colonels into overtime.  Once again North came up short. 

But not without serving notice to all of their future opposition that the Big Green defense is a mighty force to be reckoned with.

Holding Henderson County and their all-conference tailback to a scant 57 yards rushing on the night, the Husky defensive wall was nearly impregnable.  Pushing back every surge, North refused to allow the Colonels two consecutive first downs without punting until the final minute of the first half.  The front line of Jordan Lewis, J.T. Turner, Matt Hawkins, and Quintez Todd displayed the type of size, muscle, and speed that had the home team wondering if they were up against a college unit.  The linebacker contingent of Marlon Shamell, Clinton Brown, and Larry Merriweather sealed every gap and bottled up all-everything running back Antoine Lightfoot throughout the evening.

When the Husky offense managed a long drive to set up first and goal from the one yard line late in the first quarter, the first evidence of difficulties began to appear.  Four rushing attempts from the one-yard line were required before QB Dion Pendleton leapt high in the air and glided into the end zone on the backs of C Scott Price and G Matt Hawkins.  A collective sigh of relief ran through the crowd as the Huskies posted a 6-0 lead.  A collective groan ran through the crowd when the extra point attempt sailed wide left.

Following another impressive three-and-out stand by the defense, the Huskies began to move the ball downfield again.  However, the Colonel's blitz package appeared to cause some difficulties in the offense's blocking schemes and soon routine plays began to break down.  The heavy rush combined with a bit of desperation on the part of Pendleton yielded Henderson's first score. 

Attempting to evade a blitz, the QB rolled to his right, slipped the grasp of one would be tackler, and then gambled that he could get the ball in the hands of an open receiver in the flat before the next Colonel tackler could grab him.  Without enough leverage, the ball floated into the open space and Lightfoot picked it off and ran 29 yards for a TD. 

Once again, the Big Green defense dug in, stymied the Colonels, and tried to give the offense time to solve the persistent Henderson County blitz.  The half ended 7-6 and regardless of the score, North appeared the bigger, stronger, faster team.

SECOND HALF

Early in the third quarter, though, another turnover gave the opponents the ball in Husky territory and they made the best of the opportunity.  Flushed out of the pocket at the 11 yard line by a tremendous rush and on the verge of being run out of bounds by Lewis, the Henderson QB spotted an open receiver at the goal line and threaded the ball through coverage for the score.  When the WR slammed the ball into the ground rather than hand it to the official following the score, a 15 yard penalty was assessed on the extra point and the Colonels missed their opportunity.  The score was then 13-6.

Just minutes later, North finally made Henderson pay for their blitzes and stunts.  With interior linemen Price, Hawkins, and Turner executing a perfect trap block sequence, FB Damien Odom broke into the defensive backfield without a linebacker to beat, shed the safety, and out ran the Colonel's cornerbacks for a 69 yard touchdown.  K Mitch Parker made the extra point and the score was deadlocked at 13 apiece. 

Several key moments occurred as the remaining minutes ticked away.  Big hits on punt coverage by LB Greg Hopkinson and S Stephen Jackson helped to bottle up Henderson County deep in their own territory.  Twice DB Brandon Stewart looked to be within inches of gaining open space on the outside as he fearlessly returned punts into the teeth of the Colonel's coverage only to run out of room.  The defensive line again got quality minutes from 6-2 315lb tackle Markie Johnson.

When the defense came up big with 4:37 to play, the North offense took over.  Gaining 23 yards on three carries by running backs Odom and Larry Merriweather brought the Huskies into Colonel territory with just over two minutes to play in regulation.  It seemed as though the tide had turned and North would prevail.  Once again, however, the blitz package deployed by the Colonels seemed to cause fits and the drive stalled.  Regulation ended tied at 13-13.

OVER TIME

With North going first in overtime, two rushing attempts between the tackles only yielded two yards.  On third down, Merriweather carried wide to his right and momentarily appeared to have some open room.  Interior pursuit caught up with him before he could make his turn toward the goal line and the Huskies were force to attempt a field goal from the far right hash mark.  Parker's kick narrowly missed clearing the crossbar as it sliced further and further to the right.

Knowing that they only needed a field goal to win, Henderson County then handed the ball three consecutive times straight up the middle.  When fourth down arrived, the ball was in perfect placement in front of the goal post and their kicker converted what was essentially an extra point attempt for the 16-13 victory.

To categorize the loss as anything other than a disappointment would be dishonest.  North was favored to win this game in spite of it being Henderson County's "Hall of Fame" game.  The contest does serve as a measure, though, of the stout defense that North possesses and other than an injury to defensive back Cory Hunter, the Huskies head toward Friday night's matchup with Castle healthy and confident. 

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