Bloomington South stays unbeaten, overwhelms Southport in 54-7 win

So far this season, the Bloomington High School South football team has rolled past non-conference foes and Conference Indiana rivals alike. The Panthers dominance continued Friday night, as Bloomington South improved its record to 6-0 and 4-0 in the conference. Led by junior quarterback Duncan Combs, who went 15-of-15 for a 229-yard, four-touchdown performance, the Panthers cruised past Southport 54-7

“I think we had a lot of great effort,” Bloomington South head coach Gabe Johnson said. “A lot of good individual play and team play. It’s great to come out with a win. Great to come out relatively healthy.”

Bloomington South dominated in all three aspects of the game. South’s offense gained 345 total yards while the defense only allowed 130 yards. But the defense did allow Southport to score its first points of the season. The Cardinals had been shutout in their previous five games. A pass from senior quarterback Emanuel Brandon (8/17 att, 103 yds, 1 TD) found senior wide receiver Markell Hatchett (1 rec, 83 yds, 1 TD) down the sideline for an 83-yard touchdown.

The first score of the year sent the away stands and sideline into a frenzy, but the 34–7 tally in the second quarter did not help Southport get back into the game. The Cardinal offense only mustered 30 yards in the second half.

Bloomington South’s usual offensive weapons, senior running back Braylen Townsend and junior wide receiver Connor Parker, were unavailable for the game. Both were on the sideline in street clothes. Senior running back Shaun Cooper (16 car, 90 yds, 2 TDs) picked up most of the rushing work, while senior wide receiver Sam Giles (4 rec, 44 yds, 0 TD) and senior running back Blake Azcui (4 rec, 41 yds, 1 TD) were more involved in the passing attack.

After a touchback on the opening kickoff, Bloomington South drove 80 yards down the field in 11 plays. Combs connected with Giles for 27 yards and senior tight end Jalen Williams (4 rec, 77 yds, 1 TD) for 12. The drive was capped off with senior tight end Noah Poellnitz III catching his first pass this season.

The first offensive drive for Southport ended very quickly. On their first play of scrimmage, a miscommunication on the snap made Brandon fumble. South’s junior linebacker Charlie Morris picked up the ball and one play later, Combs found Azcui for an 18-yard touchdown.

Bloomington South was back in the end zone on its very next drive after a Southport three-and-out. Again, it only took one play as Combs found junior wide receiver Jonathan Winstead for 45 yards to increase the Panthers lead to 21-0 with over four minutes left in the first quarter.

“Our offensive line is a really good group,” Johnson said. “[Southport] did some things to try to limit our run, but we were able to throw the ball around. If you are going to work really hard to take something away, then typically that opens something else up.”

Mistakes cost Southport and gave Bloomington South good field position. The Cardinals managed to pick up their first first down of the contest, but a mishandled snap by junior punter Edgar Coronado saw him get mauled by South’s punt team.

The turnover led to a Panthers possession starting on the opposing 11-yard line, and for the third consecutive drive, it only took one play to get into the end zone. A 11-yard run by Cooper and a made point after try—even after it was moved back five yards due to a penalty—by sophomore kicker Cohen Fischer gave South a 28-0 lead closing in on the end of the first quarter.

Southport’s offense still could not get any offensive momentum to start the second quarter. However, the Cardinals defense finally showed up. Combs tried to run from pressure, but senior defensive lineman Myles Caudill and senior Jayce Hancock for the Cardinals got to the opposing quarterback in the backfield, leading to South’s first punt of the night.

The punt did not faze the Panthers offense. After a three-and-out punt by Southport, Bloomington South was back in the end zone. Combs connected with Giles and Azcui before two consecutive rushes by Cooper closed out the drive. A blocked extra point gave South a 34-0 lead.

Southport responded three plays later with Hatchett’s 83-yard touchdown. Hatchett went down in the end zone after scoring and did not play the rest of the game.

On Bloomington South’s last three offensive drives of the second half, the Panthers went: field goal, touchdown, then field goal. Fischer made a 20-yarder after a holding penalty inside the 10-yard line moved the offense back. Freshman kicker Sam Stolberg made the other kick from 27 yards out. The touchdown was caught by Williams from five yards out. The contest entered halftime with the Panthers leading 44-7.

“I don’t think there’s typically a lot of reasons for the penalties,” Johnson said. “I think that we have to play within the rules and just be smarter. It’s lazy, lack of focus, maybe some undiscipline. We invited an official crew to come out to our practice and to talk to us about those things.”

A running clock was implemented in the second half. The starting offense for Bloomington South stayed on the field for its first drive of the second half, but the second-string offense entered the game after that. In the third quarter, both teams combined for only 13 yards gained.

“I’m happy about getting some young guys that can come in and play well,” Johnson said. “They kept them out of the end zone and still moved the ball and scored a touchdown. It’s always good when your younger guys get to play in this kind of environment.”

Bloomington South scored its final points with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Junior running back Myles West was brought into the game and rumbled into the end zone from 11-yards out to give South the 54-7 win.

The Panthers (6-0, 4-0 Conference Indiana) will finish Conference Indiana play next Friday at Columbus North. The Bull Dogs have only played one Conference Indiana game, defeating Southport 54-0, and with every other team in the conference having a loss, a victory would win Bloomington South the conference.

“We want to win the conference,” Johnson said. “We’re going to have our hands full, and we’re going to have a great week of practice. We’re going to have to prepare really well and execute a game plan and go get a win on the road, that’s always tough.”