-
Jarrett Whitefield before the second half kickoff against Norman North. -
Longsnapper Kasey Mangrum warming up on Edmond North's sideline. -
Edmond North defense making a stop against Norman North in the second half.
LeBron Jones got an opportunity to shine in the second half, but the stellar performance didn’t amount to a Huskies win when Norman North rolled into town on Friday night.
In the Huskies 35-24 loss, the score line felt complimentary for the Huskies second-half effort in a difficult circumstance.
The problems came about through the offensive struggles the Huskies couldn’t seem to shake. Pryce Bender, Edmond North’s quarterback, turned the ball over once and struggled moving the ball through the air throughout the opening half. As a result, Jones lined up in the wildcat formation consistently in the second half, finding continuous success with those opportunities.
Down 28-7, Edmond North recovered an onside kick which led to a Jones 16-yard touchdown run, converted a field goal to make the score 35-17 before Jones scored from the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
Tanner Roof, Edmond North’s coach, said the team had used Jones in the formation before this game.
“We’ve had it in for pretty much all season long, but he had been kind of banged up there for a while,” Roof said. “We really went back to it a little more against Mustang, and then tonight being his last go, we saw that we had some advantages in certain situations. He did a great job just grinding it out in some of those and breaking some arm-tackles and getting some extra yards.”
The game really decided itself in the big plays Norman North converted into points, with the biggest drives coming down the stretch of the first half. Gavin Frakes, Norman North’s quarterback, completed a 44-yard pass and a 43-yard pass, both scoring touchdowns, to break the Huskies defense.
Roof had high praise for Frakes performance.
“Going into this week looking at it as a staff, we think he’s one of the best quarterbacks that we’ve faced this year by far throwing the football (and) creating plays,” Roof said.
The matchup added a wrinkle to the Huskies senior night festivities, but didn’t take away from the impact the Huskies seniors have made on the football program.
“We’ve got a really good group of leaders in that group, and one thing that we’ve taught them all year long is about just competing until the end regardless of circumstance,” Roof said. “…Hopefully the underclassman have learned from their leadership and will pick up the torch and run with it for the upcoming years.”