South takes Bloomington rivalry matchup, beats North 36–7

Bloomington’s crosstown football rivalry added another chapter Friday night, with Bloomington South once again getting the upper hand. The Panthers, who entered the game with a 50–16 series lead over North, stretched that margin with a 36–7 victory.

South was led by its offense for most of the game. After not playing last week, junior quarterback Duncan Combs went 15-of-20 for 312 yards and three touchdowns. Combs’s favorite targets were senior tight end Jalen Williams (7 rec, 140 yds, TD) and junior wide receiver Connor Parker (4 rec, 131 yds, 2 TD).

The Panthers strength has been their run game all season. Both senior running backs Shaun Cooper (21 car, 96 yds, TD) and Braylen Townsend (20 car, 72 yds, TD) saw 20 plus carries, and combined for 167 total yards.

“It’s a little bittersweet,” Bloomington South head coach Gabe Johnson said. “We felt that the game could have gone a little more in our way, but we have to clean up some penalties. They’re drive killers. We get to make corrections, and improve in the face of victory. We’re not a finished product by any stretch.”

North could not get any offensive momentum going for most of the game. The Cougars have been a pass-heavy team to start the season behind senior quarterback John Bargen. Bargen finished the game going 16-of-28 for only 129 yards. Junior wide receiver Nate Walker (5 rec, 56 yds) was the only passing target to get over 50 yards. North leaned on the ground game at times. Junior running back Brayden Johnson had 66 total yards on 12 carries for the Cougars.

“Obviously the end result is not what we wanted,” Bloomington North head coach Brett Cooper said. “We had a good week of practice, and our kids were physical tonight. We just weren’t physical enough. This was a late transition, and it’s going to take some time for us to find what works and clicks.”

Bloomington North did open up the game on the front foot. The Cougars drove 55 yards down the field, starting from their own 26-yard line, into South territory. A 37-yard rush by Johnson put North into the red zone. But, the offense stalled out, leading to a field goal attempt. The 36-yard try was missed by senior kicker Joe Luther.

South could not capitalize with the momentum on the ensuing drive. Combs found senior wide receiver Sam Giles twice, but holding penalties stopped any forward progress. The Panthers had to bring out the punt team around midfield.

After three consecutive drives from both teams ended with punts, South finally started to move the ball down the field again. Combs connected with Williams on third down for a 48-yard completion. A couple of rushes by Cooper pushed him into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown. The extra point by sophomore kicker Cohen Fischer made it a 7-0 contest with 7 minutes remaining in the second quarter.

North could only gain 13 yards on the next drive, and the Cougars had to punt. Combs used this momentum to find Williams again for a big gain, this time for 33 yards. Three plays later, Combs connected with Parker for a 24-yard score. The extra point was blocked, but South grew its advantage to 13-0 heading into halftime.

Coming out of halftime, the offense started clicking for Bloomington South. The Panthers scored points on each of their first four drives after the break.

“We’ve got a really good [offensive] line,” Johnson said. “We’ve also got really good running backs. It’s kind of our identity on offense. Quarterback [Duncan Combs] was really good with a strong arm. We got to clean up the penalties, but we still put up 36 points.”

A 10-play, 70-yard drive opened up the third quarter. Combs, Williams, and Cooper basically did it all for South. The Panthers did not have a rush for more than 10 yards the whole game, but bits and chunks from Cooper helped create manageable distances for first downs. Combs capped off the possession by finding Williams for 15 yards.

“We knew that they couldn’t guard us,” Williams said. “We’re just looking to throw the ball and then the run will always be there. We lacked a little bit at the start, but I think we did well. We got the win, so that’s what matters.”

North finally got the spark they were looking for on the ensuing drive. On the kickoff, Carter Matthew received the ball at the 2-yard line. Matthew cut towards the left side of the field to find good blocking and open lanes. He then took the kickoff return 98 yards into the end zone for the Cougars first score of the night, which reduced the deficit to 20-7.

When South got the ball back, Combs took to the air to pick up big yards. South’s quarterback connected with Giles and Williams, both for 15 yards. However, penalties hurt the flying offensive effort. The Panthers settled for a 40-yard field goal made by freshman kicker Sam Stolberg.

North started getting down the field with its offense at the end of the third quarter. Bargen found Walker three separate times for over 10 yards. But a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line saw senior running back Noah Ferree get tackled behind the line of scrimmage by junior linebacker Charlie Morris to open up the fourth quarter.

“We’ve got to be able to run the ball a little bit better, and then we’ve got to be able to catch the ball in critical situations,” Cooper said. “When you go back and watch in third down situations, they caught it and completed it, and we dropped it. That’s a drive killer and something we’ve got to work on day by day.”

It did not take long for South to get back in the end zone. On the third play of the next drive, wideout Parker got wide open and Combs found his man for a 93-yard touchdown. The score put the Panthers up 29-7 and tied Bloomington South’s record for the longest touchdown reception.

After a turnover-on-downs for North, South could not be kept out of the end zone. A 2-yard rushing touchdown by Townsend ended the game with a 36-7 final score.

Bloomington South (4-0, 2-0 Conference Indiana) will turn their attention to another conference game next Friday at Terre Haute South Vigo. Bloomington North (1-3, 0-2 Conference Indiana) stays in Bloomington and tries to defeat Terre Haute North Vigo for its first conference win this season.

“We’ve got to only worry about Saturday's film,” Johnson said. “Look at it one week at a time. You got to refocus them a little bit after they get with their parents telling them how great they are, and we’ll refocus them. We’ll turn our attention toward Terre Haute South on Sunday.”