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North 15 Castle 34 - Castle Stadium Aug. 31, 2007

Game Stats    Game Recap   

Offense

Offensive line blocking scores:

Johnson                 Allgood                  Todd                       Douglas                 Borman                 Kuhlenhoelter

73%                          (illness)                84%                            74%                        85%                           81%

Defense

Game Recap

Conventional football wisdom says that there are three ways to win a football game:

1] Block better than the other team.

2] Tackle better than the other team.

3] Force the other team to turn the ball over.

Friday night at Castle Stadium, the Huskies couldn't claim to have accomplished any of those three goals.

The first possession that North had the ball was classic Huskies 'blitzkrieg' style football. Three plays covered 66 yards with QB Dion Pendleton breaking free for a long run and RB Larry Merriweather capping things off from the four yard line. A missed extra point was the first indicator that things might not go as hoped for on the night.

Castle had been stymied in it's first two possessions. Having taken a page out of Henderson County's playbook, the Knights had slugged it out between the tackles and moved the ball without scoring. Key stops on third downs had kept Castle from finding the end zone.

What they hadn't counted on were two things: that the Husky defense would break down it's fundamental approach to tackling and that the Husky offense would soon turn the ball over to them in good field position.

On the Knights' third possession, set up by a Husky turnover in their own territory, Castle's hammer and tongs offense finally paid off. North seemed to have the right calls on defense but the execution was poor. Nothing typified this more than the first touchdown of the night for Castle.

The short and stout Knights' tailback disappeared into a cloud of green and white jersey's and emerged a moment later dragging two defenders behind him into the end zone. Despite seven pairs of hands having grabbed some portion of the runner on the play, none were able to bring him down.

The next possession North again turned the ball over to Castle and the results were the same. North trailed 14-6 early in the second quarter and never regained the lead.

When the Huskies gave up another score later in the period, things began to get desperate and it was Pendleton who answered the call. When a third down pass rush forced the Husky quarterback to give ground to his right, he spotted an opening to run and took off toward the sideline. When WR Justin Rushing spotted the QB coming his way with the ball tucked under his arm, he provided a quick downfield block that cleared the way for Pendleton to run.

A Knight defender crossed the field, played the angle, and forced the Husky QB out of bounds inside the ten. It appeared that the Green and White would have a chance to pull back within one touchdown before half-time.

The Huskies' best chance at pay dirt came when tall WR Mitch Parker drew one-on-one coverage in the right hand corner of the end zone. The pass however was an inch too high, the defender jumped just high enough to bother Parker, and the ball careened off the receiver's outstretched hands. North had to settle for a field goal and trailed 21-9.

The Knights took the ensuing kickoff and moved down field on two medium length runs and a quick pass that turned into a long run. North got a gift when the Knights chose to run out the clock on the three yard line and kicked a short field goal rather than try for a touchdown.

The half ended with the Huskies down 15 points.

Two plays in the second half typified North's night, and those two plays would determine whether the Huskies would have a chance to come back and win or settle for a disappointing loss.

Late in the third quarter, the defense stiffened on the Husky 35 yard line. Faced with a third and four situation, the Knight's QB rolled out to his left and looked for a wide receiver. With a ferocious rush from DE Travis Carlisle, the quarterback rushed a panicked throw and sailed the ball into the North bench. It appeared that the Huskies had held and would get the ball back with a chance to turn things around.

Instead, a Husky linebacker was called for a late hit on the quarterback and the Knights were given a first down at the North twenty. Precious minutes wound down off the clock before the Knights scored their second field goal of the game.

North wasn't done however and came back with a long drive of their own on the ensuing kickoff. A long pass to WR Cory Hunter and short passes to WR Ryan Parkman had the Huskies again moving the ball. When RB Larry Merriweather rambled in from the two yard line, the Huskies had again cut the gap to 12 points. An attempted run came up short on the extra-point conversion and the Huskies kicked off down two touchdowns.

K Kyle Horstman boomed a deep kickoff and the Knights started from their own 19. With nine minutes to play, the Huskies had a chance to bottle up the Knights deep in their own territory and force a punt which would put North in good position to cut the gap to six or less.

Lightning struck in the form of DE Randall Tomlin. Appearing in his first game of the season, the tall rangy end stormed around Castle's right tackle and trapped the Knights' quarterback on the one yard line. That single play stood to be the 'game turner'.

Until the next play.

Faced with 3rd and 'forever' from their own one yard line, Castle was simply trying to extend beyond the shadow of their own goalpost. With nine minutes on the board, the Castle coach was desperate not to take a safety. North's lightning bolt offense had resurfaced on the last possession and a two score difference could become six points or less on a single play.

There was plenty of time and opportunity for North to still win the ball game.

Castle called a short pass to the left--and they threw the ball to the one guy on the field that the Huskies just couldn't bring down. When the Knights' running back caught the ball at the two, he was immediately surrounded by defenders. One after another they grabbed at the squat running back's arms, jersey, and waist.

Unfortunately, no one took his legs out from under him.

60 yards later, Castle had a first down on the North 38 yard line.

In tennis they call that, "game, set, and match".

The Huskies lost 34-15 and got a lesson in what it takes to win football games.

Blocking.

Tackling.

Holding onto the football.

Let's hope that Friday's game with Memorial is cooked from that recipe rather than the one baked in Newburgh.

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