Bloomington football teams start championship chase on home turf in Sectional play this Friday
With one week already down in the 2025 Indiana High School Athletic Association Sectionals, both Bloomington South and Bloomington North start their hunt for a state championship at home this Friday. The squads both play in the Class 5A, Sectional 15 bracket.
Left: Cougar quarterback John Bargen (18) launches the ball down the field. (Amy Mason, Aug. 22, 2025) Right: Panthers quarterback Duncan Combs (2) sails the ball towards a receiver as Braylen Townsend (6) provides protection. (Dave Quick, Aug. 22, 2025)
With one week already down in the 2025 Indiana High School Athletic Association Sectionals, both Bloomington South and Bloomington North start their hunt for a state championship at home this Friday.
The squads both play in the Class 5A, Sectional 15 bracket.
Bloomington South opens the playoffs against Terre Haute South Vigo. As Conference Indiana foes, the Panthers are familiar with Terre Haute South Vigo. Bloomington South defeated the Braves 49-14 in an away game on Sept. 19.
When they played during the regular season, senior running back Shaun Cooper gashed open the Terre Haute South defense, finishing the game with 241 yards and five touchdowns on 33 carries. Senior running back Braylen Townsend added 74 yards on 11 carries. Junior quarterback Duncan Combs went 17-of-24 for 139 yards. The Panther defense was able to pick up four sacks and three interceptions. The Panthers are coming into the playoffs with just one blemish on their record, a season-ending 33-12 loss to Center Grove.
Bloomington North comes into the playoffs with five straight regular-season wins. The Cougars started the win-streak with a 56-0 victory over their first-round Sectional opponent, Terre Haute North Vigo. Senior quarterback John Bargen completed 11 of 13 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Rashon English turned four receptions into 102 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, junior Brayden Johnson and sophomore Carter Matthew combined for 107 yards on 23 carries.
Since then, Bloomington North has dominated opponents on both sides of the ball. They had a close 31-28 battle against Columbus North, a close 31-28 battle against Columbus North , but a last-second blocked field goal gave the Cougars the victory. Bloomington North finished the season with a 57-0 romp over Southport.
Bloomington South vs. Terre Haute South Vigo
Top Left: Bloomington South’s Shaun Cooper (34) is on a 80-yard run to the end zone. (Dave Quick, Aug. 29, 2025) Top Middle: Braylen Townsend (6) scored 5 rushing touchdowns against Terre Haute North Vigo, one shy of his jersey number. (Dave Quick, Sept. 5, 2025) Top Right: South’s Jalen Williams (1) catches the ball, runs with the ball. (Dave Quick, Sept. 12, 2025) Bottom Left: Sam Giles (0) carries the ball for Bloomington South. (Dave Quick, Oct. 10, 2025) Bottom Right: Bloomington South head coach Gabe Johnson (Dave Quick, Sept. 12, 2025)
In total, this season, Cooper has run for 922 yards on 130 carries and Townsend has 885 yards on 149 carries. The pair have combined for 31 rushing touchdowns, with Townsend having one more at 16.
Combs has thrown for 1,671 yards and 14 touchdowns with three interceptions. He has completed 71.1% of his passes. Senior tight end Jalen Williams has been Combs’s favorite target this season. Williams has a team-high 716 yards, 38 receptions, and 11 receiving touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Sam Giles, plus junior receivers Connor Parker and Jonathan Winstead, have over 200 yards and 10 receptions.
The Panther defense is averaging 15 points allowed this season. Senior linebacker Ross Ogden leads the team with five sacks and 12 tackles for loss. He has 71 tackles this season. Only junior linebacker Charlie Morris and senior linebacker Ian Quick have more with 77. Morris has added eight tackles for loss, while senior defensive lineman Luke Arnett has six tackles for loss plus three sacks. Junior defensive back Rylan Stikeleather leads Bloomington South in interceptions with three. Along with Stikeleather, four other Panthers have an interception.
The Braves offense is averaging 36 points per game this season. Their offense is led by a dual-threat quarterback in junior Maddox Woodcock. He has thrown for 809 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Woodcock has completed 58% of his passes this season and has thrown two interceptions. On the ground, he has gained 584 yards and seven touchdowns on 86 carries.
Senior running back Tyisaac Corbin has picked up the other work on the ground, producing 884 yards and 14 touchdowns on 143 carries. Senior receiver Samuel Weihert and junior Mayson Lewis have been Woodcock’s favorite targets this season. Weihert has 298 yards on 22 receptions plus one touchdown. Lewis has gained 261 yards and four touchdowns on 13 receptions.
Weihert also plays on the defensive side of the ball. At defensive back, he has a team-high three interceptions this season. Five other Braves have produced at least one interception. Junior defensive back Brighton Sanders leads Terre Haute South in tackles with 61. His brother, junior linebacker Gregory Sanders, has the second-mos tackles on the season with 60. Senior defensive lineman Ryan Hescher has produced a team-high 5.5 sacks and 16.0 tackles for loss.
Bloomington North vs. Terre Haute North Vigo
Top Left: RaShon English scores his second touchdown of the game. (Amy Mason, Oct. 17, 2025) Top Middle: Brayden Johnson (4) comes around the end with the ball. (Amy Mason, Oct. 17, 2025) Top Right: Luke Freel (5) makes an interception. (Amy Mason, Oct. 17, 2025) Bottom Left: Nate Walker (2) runs the ball. (Amy Mason, Sept. 5, 2025) Bottom Right: Bloomington North coach Brett Cooper with his kids after the game. Cooper told his players, they “have a lot more football in them.” (Amy Mason, Oct. 17, 2025)
On the season, Bloomington North quarterback John Bargen has thrown for 1,686 yards while completing 59.1% of his passes, with 18 touchdowns and three interceptions. English has reeled in 32 receptions this year, while junior wide receiver Nate Walker has 28. Walker has turned those targets into 496 yards and four touchdowns, while English has totaled 553 yards and six touchdowns.
Sophomore wide receiver Blake Davis has the second-most receiving scores for the Cougars with five touchdowns. In the run game, Johnson has produced 564 yards and four touchdowns on 116 carries. Matthew has totaled 60 carries this season, turning them into 341 yards and six touchdowns.
Senior athlete Noah Ferree has produced on both sides of the ball for Bloomington North. He has four rushing touchdowns and a team-high 90 tackles this season. Ferree has also added four sacks. Senior defensive lineman Lucas Rice leads the Cougars with six sacks this season, to go along with 78 tackles. Senior defensive lineman Adis Hamidovic has six tackles for loss plus three sacks. Senior defensive backs Luke Freel and Kellen Bishop have five combined interceptions.
Terre Haute North has had a tough season on offense. The Patriots are averaging five points per game on offense, with a season-best output of 13 points in a 49-13 loss against Bloomington South on Sept. 5. Terre Haute North has relied on their passing attack this season. Seniors Kaden McGrew and Jarrett Cottrell have combined for only 702 yards through the air.
McGrew has thrown four touchdowns and six interceptions, while Cottrell has had two interceptions. Senior wide receiver Traishun Brown leads the team with 45 receptions, 583 yards, and four receiving touchdowns. As a team, the Patriots have only had 215 rushing yards this season.
Terre Haute North’s defense has not been any better. The unit is giving up 47 points a game on average, with their best performance coming against Lebanon in a 34-6 loss on Oct. 10. The Patriots are led by senior linebacker Jackson McDonald. He has a team-high 119 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks this season. Junior defensive lineman Dauston Chesshir is the only other player on Terre Haute North with more than one sack. He also has 60 tackles and five tackles for loss this season. Senior defensive back Blake Salmon has produced the second-most tackles for the Patriots with 83.
The ultimate goal for every school in this season’s IHSAA playoffs is to play at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Nov. 28-29. The 5A state championships will take place at 7 p.m. on Nov. 28.
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