Panthers pounce: Bloomington South rolls past Columbus East 42–7 in opener

Entering the season fourth in the Class 5A football preseason top 10 poll, Bloomington High School South wanted to show their worth against Columbus East. The Panthers produced almost 500 yards of offense on Friday and cruised to a 42–7 season-opening win in front of full bleachers at Huff Field.

“I loved the way our kids came out and played,” Bloomington South head coach Gabe Johnson said. “I thought they played really hard and played the way that we thought we were capable of. First games are always a little weird because of the unknown stuff, but I really like where our team is.”

South’s running back tandem of senior Braylen Townsend and senior Shaun Cooper kept the Olympians defense on their toes. The Panthers had 300 yards of total offense on the ground with Townsend rushing for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Cooper adding 51 yards and a score. Junior quarterback Duncan Combs made up for an early interception by throwing for 2 touchdowns and 180 yards.

“[Braylen Townsend]’s awesome,” Johnson said. “I think D1 coaches are really missing out on Braylen Townsend and Shaun Cooper. We got two really good running backs in the backfield right now. I think they’re really good. Braylen’s been our engine and he always will be, and he’s poised for a big year.”

Columbus East couldn’t get any offensive momentum going, because of Bloomington South’s strong defense. Led by sacks from senior defensive lineman Daniel Iruoje and senior linebacker Ross Ogden, plus an interception by junior defensive back Rylan Stikeleather, South held the Olympians to 170 total yards on offense.

It was the Panthers who had the ball first. On their opening drive, South ran behind their offense line to move down the field. With Townsend and Cooper carrying the load, the Panthers put themselves inside the 10-yard line. But Columbus East linebacker Brody Miller intercepted the football and returned it to the 31-yard line.

“We got [the interception] out of the way now,” Combs said. “I don’t have to be worrying about it. Still got to work on that, and then there’s some incompletions that we can fix, but it was good to just move on from that and keep playing.”

The Olympians couldn’t capitalize on the momentum, as a holding penalty on third down and a swarming Panther defense caused a three-and-out.

A good punt by Columbus East moved Bloomington South farther back into their own territory. However, a couple of plays into the drive, after the teams switched ends for the quarter break, Townsend found a hole in the defense to move the Panthers to the 10-yard line. Cooper capped off the drive in the endzone on the next play. An extra point by sophomore kicker Cohen Fischer gave South a 7-0 lead with 10:44 left in the second quarter.

The Panthers defense stayed hot in their next turn on the field. A tackle for loss by junior linebacker Charlie Morris and a sack on third down by Iruoje forced Columbus East to punt. On the first play after the change of possession, Combs found junior wide receiver Jonathan Winstead for a 43-yard reception. Three straight rushes by Townsend punched in the Panthers’ second score of the game from the 1-yard line to increase their lead to 14-0.

Columbus East senior quarterback Kyson Villarreal connected with senior wide receiver Mykel Jones for 13 yards to give the Olympians their first momentum of the game, but the drive stalled out and the Panthers forced a turnover on downs.

“I thought that [the defense] were on top of footballs,” Johnson said. “We handled the run game really well. We didn’t let too many big plays kind of handle us. It’s just constant improvement and making sure we understand situations and making sure we’re doing a good job.”

On the next drive, a Combs rush for 16 yards on third down moved Bloomington South inside the 20-yard line. Two plays later, Combs found senior wide receiver Jalen Williams in the back corner of the end zone to push the Panther’s lead to 21-0.

Columbus East tried to move down the field with just over two minutes left before halftime. The Olympians used a hurry-up offense that threatened the Panthers. Short passes from Villarreal gave East good field position. South’s defense stopped the Olympians’ momentum after Iruoje and Ogden combined on a fourth-down sack that led into halftime.

Bloomington South kept their offense hot to start the second half as Combs found Williams for 41 yards on the Panthers’ first play. A couple of plays, and penalties, later and Townsend was back into the endzone to extend the Panthers’ lead to 28-0.

Villarreal used his legs several times to pick up big plays for Columbus East on the next drive. Runs of 19 and 13 yards, plus completed short passes set the Olympians up at the 5-yard line. Villarreal then found senior wide receiver Keaton Lawson for East’s first score of the game and to make it 28-7.

But the Panthers responded on the next drive after Townsend hit a hole and scored from 34 yards out. A three-and-out for Columbus East gave the ball back into Bloomington South’s possession. Combs found Winstead for 16 yards and increased the Panthers lead to 42-7 to start the fourth quarter.

As the running clock started after that score, both teams slowed the pace down in their final possessions and ended the game with a dominating Bloomington South win.

The Panthers (1-0) stay at home next Friday, Aug. 29, against the Martinsville Artesians.

“Last year, [Martinsville] was a nail biter at the end that we lost,” Combs said. “We’re looking to get that get back and to beat them. They’re a good team, good opponent, we just got to prepare and then try to win on Friday night.”