North Central loses to LN, losing its swagger

               For two games, North Central had a swagger. They entered games with their chests stuck out, with their heads held high, and with their fists balled up.
                Entering games, NC’s body language said, “Bring it!
This swag – a confidence not seen from a North Central team in several years – led to road victories over ranked Pike and Lawrence Central.
             Where did this swag come from? It came from the football players’ parents. They were parents who gassed up their SUVs, vans, and cars and drove their kids all over the Midwest to compete against the best high school players in the area in front of many Division I, II, and III college coaches.  Our players found out what their parents have been telling them for years: Son, you are good! You are just as good as every player in this camp.  The college coaches also told them positive things.
                   So for the first two games – NC sauntered into enemy territory and came back with enemy heads on a figurative stick.
                   The media was scrambling. Is North Central that good? If they had asked one of the dads who  supported – played catch with them, hopped the NC fence with them, and spent their last dimes on them – they would have gotten a decisive answer to that question: Hell yeah they’re good!
                But over the last two weeks – especially in the recent 14-9 loss to Lawrence North, the Panthers have lost their swagger.
                Against LN, North Central scored first, marching down the field with relative ease before settling on a 26-yard field goal by Ben Stoller. Stoller’s field goal and a 51-yard TD run by Tyrin Liggin in the second quarter may have been the only bright spots for the Panthers.  Liggin, who had a 72-yard TD run last week, gave NC a brief 9-7 third-quarter lead.
                That’s when things got weird. The Panthers had two snaps sail over their punter’s head, leading to two safeties. Throw in a Craig Larew 31-yard field goal and Lawrence North walked away with a 14-9 victory.
                In the game, quarterback Gavin Alexander was held to 10-of-20 yards passing for 96 yards. He also had seven carries for 54 yards. Alexander played without all-county receiver Jordan Williams, who didn’t play because of an injury.
                Reidus Trimble led North Central with three catches for 17 yards. Mike Raby (37 yards) and Marquel Wattley (21 yards) had two catches each.