No one gave the Terre Haute North Patriots much of a chance against Class 4A No. 13-ranked Mooresville in high school football Friday night.
John Harrell's computer-based website had predicted the Pioneers would win by a 63-0 margin.
Yet, none of that— or a two-hour lightning delay— could prevent the Patriots from giving second-year head coach Michael Ghant his first career victory with a thrilling 36-32 win.
"These guys have been working their butts off all summer," a hyped Gant said afterward. "Everybody doubted us last year and last week [in a 34-20 loss to Northview]. We came back in to watch film on Saturday, had a great workout with coach John [Barrett] and they deserve this win.
"I didn't do anything but call the plays."
The win broke a 14-game losing streak, with the last Patriot victory being a 37-0 rout of Southport on Sept. 30, 2022.
Many of those losses were of the running clock variety, but this Patriot team is growing up and the days of those kinds of games appear to be over.
The game started similarly to many recent Patriot games, with the visitors controlling play and leading 14-0 at the first stop. North's only possession had ended on downs on the Pioneer 29.
Mooresville got the first score of the second period on a 75-yard run by Tyler Denny to go up 20-0 and the outlook was as gloomy as the evening's weather forecast.
But Za'eiar White and the Patriots were not going to take another L on this long and humid night.
White, who finished the game with 234 yards and three touchdowns, got his first TD from 2 yards out with 4:39 left in the first half. He had gained 24 other yards on the drive, and also caught a 22-yard pass on third down to keep the drive alive.
North's defense stiffened and held the Pioneers on downs and the Patriots scored again to make it 20-14 at the half.
White gained 6 yards, gutsy quarterback Harry Wetzel connected with Josiah Bennett on a 21-yard pass, White ran for four more and then Wetzel hit Bennett for a 35-yard TD in the final minute of the half.
North blocked a field goal on the last play of the first half.
The Patriots switched up their quarterback position in the second half, with sophom*ore lefty Maddox Woodco*ck taking over from Wetzel. Woodco*ck had several nice runs and one completion, but both of his drives ended in turnovers before he left with an injury.
Mooresville increased its lead to 26-14 on a 34-yard pass from Connor Cruz to Quinten Gunter.
The White-Wetzel combo led the Patriots to another score late in the third period, with Wetzel hitting Sam Weihert on a 41-yard TD pass with 4.1 seconds left in the quarter to bring North within four at 26-22.
White scored on a 52-yard run with 9:14 to play to put North up 29-26 after Reid Monken's extra point, but Mooresville marched 80 yards in six plays to regain the lead on another Cruz-to-Gunter TD pass of 20 yards with 6:16 left.
Wetzel exemplified the newly-found North confidence by being confident at such a key point in the game.
"We always had faith," he said. "We knew dang well that we have got guys who could do the things we just did."
White started the winning North drive with a 19-yard run for a first down and several other Patriots helped move the ball quickly downfield.
White had a key 11-yard run on third down to put the Patriots close and Bennett scored on a 1-yard run with 52.4 seconds left.
Mooresville took over on its own 35 and North's Jimmie Wright got a huge sack on first down to set up the game-winning play by defensive end Kaden McGrew.
McGrew stripped the ball from Cruz, who was back to pass, and fell on it to preserve the win.
North then went into the "Victory Formation," something which Wetzel admits the team had not practiced.
"It's the first of many— I believe that," he said, out of breath and dripping of sweat and rain at midfield. "But it's all glory to God. Give Him the glory. It was all 22 of us and that's what the team is."
White, playing in just his second game for the Patriots after transferring from Terre Haute South, was impossible for the Pioneers to tackle and somehow said he did not feel tired after 32 carries and numerous hard hits.
"There are dawgs on this team," he said. "I believe in my team and they believe in me. That's why we got this one today."
White is one of only seven seniors on the North roster and admits he had to do a little coaching of his own with his junior quarterback.
"He was a dawg today, but I had to get in his [butt] a little bit," he said. "Other than that, play the game how you're supposed to play it."
The 1-1 Patriots will open Conference Indiana play at Bloomington South next Friday, while Mooresville (also 1-1) plays at Plainfield.
Mooresville 14 6 6 6— 32
Terre Haute North 0 14 8 14— 36
M— Bruhn 4 pass from Cruz (Coffey kick)
M— Brownlee 3 run (Coffey kick)
M— Denny 75 run (kick failed)
N— White 2 run (pass failed)
N— Bennett 35 pass from Wetzel (Wetzel run)
M— Gunter 35 pass from Cruz (pass failed)
N— Weihert 41 pass from Wetzel (Hersman pass from Wetzel)
M— Gunter 20 pass from Cruz (run failed)
N— Bennett 1 run (Monken kick)
