Bloomington High School South football soundly defeated its crosstown rival Bloomington High School North 36-7 on Friday night. The final showdown, at Huff Field in Bloomington, between these rivals in Conference Indiana ended in total Panther victory.
After both teams started their backup quarterbacks last week, the availability of North’s senior quarterback John Bargen and South’s junior quarterback Duncan Combs was put into question due to injury concerns. Luckily, this proved not to be the case as both starting quarterbacks suited up.
Bloomington North started the game on offense, whittling its way down the field on what proved to be one of its few offensive drives to pass midfield. The Cougars, however, stalled and missed their ensuing field goal attempt.
Bloomington South started off its first offensive drive with multiple penalties, which became somewhat of a problem for its offense, as 11 penalties cost it 81 yards, according to the Herald Times.
“The penalties kind of stand out,” Bloomington South coach Gabe Johnson said post-game. “We got to grow from that; we gotta clean that up.”
Despite an encroachment offering the Panthers a fresh set of downs after fourth and 4, another conversion on a subsequent fourth and 2 was brought back by an offensive holding penalty.
On the following punt, the ball managed to hit a Bloomington North player in the back, although the Cougars came away with the ball in the resulting scramble. Their offense quickly went three and out, however, punting it straight back.
The start of the second quarter was more of the same, both teams punting once more. The game finally started to open up for the Panthers, with Combs finding senior tight end, and three-star University of South Florida commit, Jalen Williams for 44 yards.
Bloomington South finally got on the board, punching in a 2-yard rushing touchdown from senior running back Shaun Cooper to lead 7-0 with seven minutes left in the first half.
The Cougar offense continued to struggle for the second straight week, punting once more. After Williams caught a 33-yard pass over a defender’s head, Combs found junior receiver Connor Parker for a 23-yard touchdown, making the score 13-0 after a missed extra point.
With just under two minutes left in the half, the Cougar offense struggled to generate points. The run game, which collected merely 58 yards on 17 carries, was ineffective, leaving the responsibility on Bargen to throw Bloomington North back into the game.
Bloomington South’s running game, by contrast, wore its opponent down for the second straight game, accumulating 163 yards over 46 carries. As Bloomington South inched its way down the field after halftime, it was Williams who finished off its drive, catching a 15-yard touchdown to extend the Panthers’ lead to 20.
The Cougars, who needed a spark to get back into the game, found one with sophomore running back Carter Matthew. Matthew took the kickoff back 98 yards to the house, giving the away crowd a jolt of energy.
With the score 20-7, the Cougar defense trudged back out onto the field after the immediate score. Combs dotted his way down the field but had a 29-yard touchdown throw to senior running back Braylen Townsend called back due to an illegal man downfield. The score read 23-7 after the ensuing field goal.
Still within two scores, the Cougar offense finally managed to string a drive together, with junior receiver/corner back Nathan Walker making four catches as they drove down to the 2-yard line by the end of the third quarter.
Despite this, the Panther defense was strong and held the line on fourth and goal to force a turnover on downs.
After two runs, the Panthers looked likely to punt the ball straight back. Pinned back inside their own 10-yard line, Combs launched a deep ball to a wide-open Parker, who raced his way untouched for a touchdown.
A late 2-yard rushing touchdown from Townsend put the icing on the cake as Bloomington South ran out of the rivalry game winners, and defeated Bloomington North 36-7.
For the second straight week, Bloomington South leaned heavy on the run game, intent on using both their senior running backs evenly. This opened the play-action pass game, allowing Bloomington South receivers to sometimes run free.
“Just to have some of that balance is a big deal for us,” Johnson said.
It was a clean game for the Panthers, committing zero turnovers all game. The same can’t be said for the Cougars, who suffered three consecutive turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter alone.
“We didn’t execute when it mattered the most,” Bloomington North head coach Brett Cooper said. “And if you don’t execute in critical moments, you don’t win.”
Bloomington North’s defense started off the last two games well, however, limiting both opponents to zero first-quarter points. However, punishing ground games and an ineffective offense continue to slowly wear them down.
“Yeah, we gotta be better on offense,” Brett Cooper said. “Keep the defense off the field. Plain and simple.”
Once the players shook hands in the middle of the field, the floodgates were opened and students poured out onto the field, cheering and running around in celebration. Johnson, however, kept things looking forward.
“It’s the last conference year, so we’re gonna to try like heck to win it.” Johnson said. “There’s a chance we’re going to see them, probably in sectionals. So, we want to be ready for them.”
Bloomington South, now 4-0, will travel to face Terre Haute South Vigo High School at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 at Bob Clements Field in Terre Haute. Bloomington North, now 1-3, will host Terre Haute North Vigo High School at 7 p.m. Sept. 19.
