High school football: Lawrence North's defense saves the day vs. Brownsburg
INDIANAPOLIS – Lawrence North trampled its opponent, rushing for 414 yards and five touchdowns en route to a 44-16 win over Noblesville in the season opener.
Friday night, however, unfolded in different fashion.
Despite accumulating chunks of yardage, the Wildcats’ high-octane, wing-T offense could not finish its drives against Brownsburg.
Lucky for Lawrence North, its defense picked up the slack.
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The unit scored two first-half defensive touchdowns to propel the host Wildcats to a 34-13 win.
“Holy cow,” said Lawrence North coach Patrick Mallory of the defensive effort. “We faltered on offense and shot ourselves in the foot. And you hate to do that because you have to put your defense back on the field for so many reps, but boy did they come up big for us.”
Huge.
After an eight-play, 78-yard opening possession drive ended with a 7-0 Wildcats lead via a Tre Bonds 2-yard end-zone plunge, Lawrence North's offense stalled in the first half.
It yielded three punts and two turnover on downs during that stretch despite reaching the opponent's half of the field three times, including a trip to the 2-yard line. Then, linebackers Maliq Carr and John Riggins pounced on mistakes.
Carr scooped a fumble at the Wildcats' 40-yard line and scurried the other way for a 60-yard touchdown with 51 seconds remaining in the first half to cushion the lead and end the 15-minute scoring drought.
“We dialed up a zone blitz. We had it covered from three of the four angles,” Mallory said. “We had him wrapped up. We lit him up and that’s when that ball came out, and Maliq being the great, smart player that he is just grabbed it. It was unbelievable.”
Forty-six seconds later, Lawrence North’s lead ballooned again. Riggins stepped in front of a receiver, intercepting Brownsburg signal caller Kyle Strakis’ pass for a 95-yard touchdown return to push the lead to 21-0.
“I saw the receiver cut inside, the ball zip that way and my eyes grew big,” Riggins said. “It was my chance to make a play and I took it.”
Strakis, who threw two touchdown passes for the Bulldogs in the waning minutes, tossed three interceptions. He finished with 186 passing yards on 13-of-27 passing.
Wildcats running backs Chad Smitherman and James Noble added two late fourth-quarter touchdowns. Aaron Williams paced the Lawrence North backfield with 75 yards, including a 51-yard pickup in the first quarter.
LAWRENCE NORTH 34, BROWNSBURG 14
Brownsburg 0 0 7 7 — 14
Lawrence North 7 14 0 13 — 34
LN — Tre Bonds 2 run (Conner Benson kick)
LN — Maliq Carr 60 fumble return (Benson kick)
LN — John Riggins 95 interception return (Benson kick)
B — Leigh Nutall 17 pass from Kyle Strakis
LN — Chad Smitherman 22 run (kick blocked)
B — Shai Sumpter-Bey 11 pass from Kyle Strakis (kick blocked)
LN — James Noble 44 run (Benson kick)
Passing — Brownsburg: Kyle Strakis 13-for-27, 186 yards. Lawrence North: Derrin McCulley 6-for-12, 90 yards.
Rushing — Brownsburg: Shai Sumpter-Bey 12-40, Donny Marcus 6-35. Lawrence North: Tre Bonds 14-70, Chad Smitherman 7-45, Aaron Williams 6-75, Derrin McCulley 12-60.
Receiving — Brownsburg: Dequincy Davis 4-36, Leigh Nutall 3-46, Danny Marcus 2-22. Lawrence North: Alex Steele 1-42.