Bloomington South rallies late to top Terre Haute South, 41–34, advances to Sectional title game against cross-town rival

Entering the Indiana High School Athletic Association playoffs, the Bloomington High School South football team had an extra week to prepare for Terre Haute South Vigo in the first round.

“I think we just worked on getting better,” Bloomington South head coach Gabe Johnson said. “That’s a good football team. We knew they were good. I thought we were ready.”

The Panthers were ready to fight in a resilient 41-34 win in the Class 5A, Sectional 15 semifinals. Bloomington South fought back from a 34-33 deficit with over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Junior athlete Hayden Clark capped off the game-winning drive to give the Panthers a seven-point lead with just over a minute left, which brought the Huff Field faithful to their feet.

Bloomington South controlled most of the game. After going down 14-9 with nine minutes left in the second quarter, the Panthers never trailed until the fourth quarter. Bloomington South could extend its lead to only nine points because of turnovers and penalties.

“In the IHSAA tournament, you’re going to get everyone’s best,” Johnson said. “We played a really good football team in round one at home, and they were not going to go down. We’ve got to clean it up.”

Junior quarterback Duncan Combs led the passing attack for the Panthers. He finished the game going 15-of-22 for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Combs also threw an interception in the back of the end zone before halftime after Bloomington South tried to extend its lead from the opposing 3-yard line.

Senior tight end Jalen Williams has the most receiving yards for the Panthers. He had 80 yards, plus a touchdown, on four receptions. Junior wide receiver Connor Parker (4 rec, 79 yds, 1 TD) was close behind Williams, finishing with 79 yards. Senior wide receiver Sam Giles had the most receptions with six, to go along with 78 yards and a touchdown.

Bloomington South put itself in a hole on the first possession of the game. Using dual-threat junior quarterback Maddox Woodcock (15/23 att, 358 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT) and senior running back Tyisaac Corbin (24 car, 89 yds, 2 TD), Terre Haute was able to move 69 yards down the field in 10 plays. Woodcock finished the drive by finding senior wide receiver Chase Maxwell for a 27-yard touchdown.

On their first possession on offense, Bloomington South was also able to easily move the ball into positive territory. Combs connected with Giles for 24 yards before a 24-yard rush by senior running back Braylen Townsend (7 car, 56 yds). However, the drive ended inside the red zone for the Panthers. Giles fumbled the ball, and junior Rylan Hoole was able to recover the ball for the Braves.

“I thought the turnovers weren’t great,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to clean that up, because that’s our second game in a row where we haven’t taken care of the football. We had the plays when we had to have them, and that’s what the tournament is about.”

Starting with the ball on their own 10-yard line, Terre Haute South lost five yards due to a holding penalty before Woodcock was sacked to put the ball on the 1-yard line. Senior Samuel Weihert was set to punt the ball back to the Panthers, but he was taken down in the end zone by senior defensive lineman Daniel Iruoje and Luke Arnett for a safety.

Now with momentum on its side, Bloomington South needed only two plays to score. On the first play, senior running back Shaun Cooper (13 car, 102 yds) got just back to the line of scrimmage. But on the very next down, Combs found Parker for 45 yards and a touchdown to give the Panthers a 9-7 lead.

Terre Haute South was able to respond by keeping the tired Bloomington South defense out on the field for a 10-play, 65-yard drive. Woodcock finished the drive with a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line to put the Braves up by five points.

“We didn’t contain (Terre Haute South’s offense) a whole bunch,” Johnson said. “(Woodcock) has a good arm. We’d like to have a few more plays in there, obviously, and get some more stops.”

The lead for Terre Haute South did not last long, as Giles returned the kickoff from the 11-yard line all the way to the end zone. Starting from the right side, Giles moved towards the middle of the field, as he got blocks from his teammates, to go 81 yards for the score.

Bloomington South was able to get the ball back after a fumble by Weihert. The Panthers punished the turnover when Combs found Williams for a 29-yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 23-14 advantage. Weihert (4 rec, 103 yds, 1 TD) made up for his mistake on the ensuing drive for the Braves, as Woodcock connected with him from 47 yards out for a touchdown.

The Panthers offense was not done before halftime. With just over four minutes left in the second quarter, Bloomington South moved the ball into opposing territory on a 36-yard rush by Cooper. With the ball on Terre Haute South’s 3-yard line, Combs dropped back, but his pass was intercepted by Weihert in the end zone.

Bloomington South was not able to get points before halftime, but made up for the missed opportunity coming out of halftime. The Panthers started the third quarter with the ball. The big-play ability of its offense showed up again, as Combs found Giles for a 35-yard touchdown.

As they did many other times throughout the game, Terre Haute South was not daunted by Bloomington South’s touchdowns. Woodcock found junior wide receiver Mayson Lewis (5 rec, 159 yds) for 35 yards, then against for 34 yards. The receptions set up Corbin for a 5-yard touchdown, but a blocked PAT attempt made it a 30-27 contest.

Bloomington South tried to make it a six-point advantage on the next possession, however, sophomore kicker Cohen Fischer missed a 22-yard field goal attempt. The Panthers came right back on the next play as senior Noah Knepper forced a fumble and recovered it to give the ball back to Bloomington South.

The Panthers were not able to get into the end zone, but a 28-yard field goal by freshman kicker Sam Stolberg increased their lead to 33-27.

Bloomington South’s lead lasted for less than five minutes, as the Terre Haute South offense was able to move down the field and score with seven minutes remaining in the game. Corbin finished the 9-play, 78-yard drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. An extra point by senior kicker Meredith Toomey made it a 34-33 lead for the Braves.

Cooper fumbled on the ensuing drive, but Bloomington South’s defense came up strong by forcing the first punt of the game. The Panthers capitalized on the opportunity with time running out in the fourth quarter. On a broken play, Combs connected with junior wide receiver Jonathan Winstead running down the sideline for 37 yards. Clark finished the drive with a touchdown before Combs found senior tight end Thomas Gill for a two-point conversion for what would prove to be the final tally of 41-34

Terre Haute South tried a comeback with 1:25 remaining on the clock, but senior linebacker Ross Ogden picked off Woodcock to advance the Panthers to the Sectional 15 championship.

Bloomington North’s 49-0 defeat of Terre Haute North Vigo makes it an all-Bloomington matchup next Friday for the title. Bloomington South defeated the Cougars 36-7 on Sept. 12 in their regular season matchup.

“We’ll watch the film and have a game plan,” Johnson said. “The goal is just to win. Doesn’t matter if it’s by one or 51.”