Friday takeaways: Bloomington South sets up showdown for CI title
Bloomington South's first half dominance continued on Friday, it just took a bit longer than usual to get revved up.
Don't take that as a sign the Panthers were not ready to go against winless Southport, however. The Cardinals, desperate for a win after 17 straight losses, still have their share of athletes and changed some things up last week, giving South some adjustments to make early on.
So after an opening quarter in which the Panthers were held to a field goal, they exploded for 34 points in the second to set the running clock in motion the rest of the way in a 44-7 rout that kept them perfect in the Conference Indiana standings.
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South's internal motivation won out again in what could have turned into a trap game with Columbus North in town next week with the CI title on the line.
"The thing that stood out about Southport, I told them, is that they are athletic enough at some point they are going to get a win," South coach Gabe Johnson said. "So we have to make sure we do what we have to do to make sure it's not against us.
"And we can't win the conference be beating them, but we won't get to the opportunity to win one if we don't. So that was the goal and we used that to have a good week of practice and we came out and go a big road win."
South's first at Southport since 2016, by the way.
Southport worked a trick play to open but South got the stop. A turnover kept the Panthers off the board before a field goal broke the ice.
The flood of points started with with first two of three Gavin Adams touchdowns, a one-yard rush and a 29-yard reception. Then Ben Morrison had a rushing touchdown and Swiss Army knife Drew Crum-Hieftje took a punt 55 yards for a score. Lucas Waldon capped it off with a TD reception to make it 37-0.
For the record that is 124-0 scoring edge before halftime during South's current four-game win streak.
Now, South (5-1, 4-0) can turn its attention to Columbus North (3-3, 2-0), which comes in off a 42-35 shootout win over Terre Haute North.
"That will be really exciting," Johnson said. "I remind people of the position we were in last year. We were undefeated and we got to Columbus North to play for a title and we laid an egg. We didn't play well, but I also think Columbus North was a pretty good team.
"So not unlike the situation we're in now, the difference is we're at home, it's senior night so I hope we can honor them with one of the goals they set. But right now, I'm just worried about us having an outstanding practice on Monday."
The home game will be the Panthers' last of the regular season with a bye week following in Week 8 after a home game with Normal (Ill.) Community couldn't be worked out. The spot will be filled by Brebeuf Jesuit next year.
Lightning strikes again
"It is incredible."
And there are a few other adjectives, and maybe a handful of four-letter words, Edgewood coach Caleb True could also use to describe the injury situation with his team this season.
At no time is any Mustang safe from harm. Take Wednesday's practice for example.
The last reps of that day's practice is for the offense to run through its trick plays. One involves the double pass and after quarterback Jacob 'Beef' Murphy had tossed the ball wide to Grant Coffey, all eyes were on the receivers tasked with blocking to give him time to throw.
"I turn around and 'Beef' is on the ground, and I'm asking why?" True said. "He's holding his ankle and sure enough, a kid blitzed on the backside, ran through the block and stepped on his ankle. It's not his fault. He was doing everything correctly and he feels awful."
So that knocked Murphy out for at least two-three weeks, meaning freshman Jaxton Collier, son of former Mustang standout Josh Collier, Edgewood's record holder for career passing yards, total offense and scoring, was going to get his first start vs. Indian Creek.
More:Where's the 'Beef': Edgewood sophomore Murphy takes over at quarterback
Before that could even happen, Edgewood was going walk-throughs, helmets only, no pads, on Thursday, when running back/kick returner Gunnar Caswell jumped on an onside kick, was hit and tore the AC joint in his shoulder. He's down a minimum three-four weeks.
We're not done. Collier is halfway through the first half and Edgewood is remaining competitive despite what would be a six-touchdown passing night for Arj Lothe in a 48-20 win. He goes back to pass.
"A kid comes off the edge and instead of throwing a swing pass, he's young, he didn't see it, he throws a deep ball and gets shellacked," True said. Collier actually got up and threw another pass before he came out. The early diagnosis is a broken collarbone, which would end his season.
"I think I ran on the field seven times with kids being injured," True said. "And (assistant Roy) Bruce went out twice. We are not in good shape."
Running back Gabe Drew had Edgewood's first two scores with runs or 50 and 59 yards, but the blocking just wasn't consistent enough to produce more. He ended up taking snaps, as did receiver Grant Coffey. Zach Minnick, if his knee is healed, is a possibility this week at Sullivan. It was 41-17 by halftime.
"I cant explain it," True said. "The kids, main thing is, we played against a good, tough Indian Creek team and gave them a run for their money. If we don't turn it over, maybe we show even better.
"At the end, the ref came over and said, 'Hats off to your guys. They were down and hurt, but your kids never once gave up. That's all we can do here. I guess it's back to the drawing board. I honestly don't know what we'll look like this week."
Homecoming King
North quarterback Dash King's effort the last two weeks, maybe not coincident with the return to health of running back Cody Mikulich, is impressive: 44-of-63 for 550 yards and nine touchdowns. It was his fourth 200-plus yard passing game of his young career.
"He's really focused," North receiver Jarno Hicks said. "He's just been super calm. I could tell Week 1 he was a little nervous, as you should be. But every week's he's gotten more and more confident. He just knows what to do."
More:Bloomington North romps New Albany with balanced offense to force running clock
"He's definitely turned it on the past two games," Mikulich said. "And that's helping our offense move the ball."
King is averaging 194.3 yards per game. Just two North QBs, Jack Smith (2,382 in 2013) and Anthony Lindsey (2,111 in 2003) have reached the 2,000 yard mark over a single season.
Owls having a hoot
One thing is becoming clear: put Seymour away before the fourth quarter or pay the price.
Bloomington South will wrap up the regular season at Seymour (4-2) and will likely run into a game on a five-game win streak. Seymour is also a new sectional partner, along with Columbus East, for South and North and three times this season, the Owls (a program with three winning seasons since 2003) have pulled off fourth-quarter comebacks for wins.
The first came in Week 2 against Jeffersonville in a 31-28 win. The Devils took a 28-25 with 8:14 to play, then Seymour responded with the go-ahead TD pass with 2:40 left and came up with a fourth-down stop to clinch it.
The next was the most dramatic, a 22-15 win over Floyd Central, in which the Owls gave up a field goal with 1:20 to play to trail 15-14. But a 31-yard Hail Mary completion for a score with a second left stunned the Highlanders.
Friday, South grad Reed May's Brownstown Central squad went up 24-21 with 3:11 to play only to see Seymour drive and score with 1:21 left and then stop the Braves on fourth down with 32 seconds left to secure a 28-24 win.
More:Here's what's happening with Bloomington area teams for Sept. 19-24
By the numbers
Bloomington South has moved to the top of the Sagarin Ratings for Class 5A. That said, 4A No. 6 Martinsville has beaten three top 10 5A squads: the Panthers, No. 5 Franklin and now No. 2 Whiteland, the top team in the AP poll, with Friday's 35-21 victory... Terre Haute North put up 104 points over the past three weeks and went 0-3, because it gave up 152... Owen Valley had a hot and cold second half vs. Sullivan. The Patriots led 20-18 at halftime and recovered an onside kick to spark a 20-0 third-quarter run. Up 40-18, they had to hang on for a 40-32 win that gave them the WIC Division title. OV is 6-0 for the first time since 2000.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Friday takeaways: Bloomington South sets up showdown for CI title
