Passing the test: How Bloomington South knocked out 5A No. 1 North

BLOOMINGTON — Only one other time this season had Bloomington South's football team come out of halftime in a game that wasn't already well in hand and it didn't end well for them.

That overtime loss stuck in the Panthers' craw. So when they again found themselves deadlocked with Bloomington North as the third quarter began, they wanted to make sure it was a much different story.

"We needed be humbled," South senior defensive end/tight end Tysen Smith said. "We needed that. It gives you something to look back on and fix things. Gaps in our defense, gaps in our offense, just things we needed to fix. North did that for us and we kept that in the back of our heads. We really got into the film and it paid off."

Over the next 11:57, the game would tilt just enough in No. 2 South's favor and taking advantage of four critical errors by the Cougars, they finished off No. 1 North, 44-31, in a Class 5A Sectional 15 opener Friday night at a raucous Dennis O'Martin Field.

"We got a special team this year and we're not ready to go home," Smith said. "During halftime, we all looked at each other like, we've got to get our stuff together. This is really, really important for us."

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South scored two fourth-quarter TDs and then Lucas Waldon, a receiver called in to help in the secondary late, finally put the previously undefeated Cougars to bed with 1:33 left. North ran a flea-flicker and quarterback Dash King was simply looking to throw the ball away with no one open when Waldon raced over and had a toe-tapping interception along the sideline.

"It felt amazing," Waldon said. "Felt amazing to secure it and get the ball back in so we could knee it."

South (9-1) will move on the sectional title game next Friday and another rematch, this time at Seymour (6-4), a 39-20 winner over Columbus East. South shellacked the Owls 47-0 in Week 9.

"This was all about fight for us," Waldon said. "Anything we can to be able to watch film on Saturday morning again."

It was a city rivalry game for the ages, with nearly 1,000 yards of offense.

"Everybody was full-effort, full speed," North quarterback Dash King said. "The physicality, it was all there. You could feel it in the game."

Third quarter turn

Tied 21-21 at halftime, North had piled up 300 yards of offense, 246 passing. The Cougars added 222 more yards, but also just 10 more points.

"It's good for us to be tested like that," South coach Gabe Johnson said. "It felt very much like a championship game."

"We're a really good second half team," North coach Scott Bless said. "We really liked the situation. But they were a really good second-half team, too."

Linebacker Ben Godar got South off on the right foot in the third by picking off a short pass on North's opening possession, giving the offense the ball at the BN 26. North held, but Bryce Taylor had no problems belting a 41-yard field that zoomed by the upper part of the uprights.

North appeared ready to answer, converting on a fourth-and-3. But a false start on a fourth-and-1 sneak forced the Cougars' to try a 36-yard field goal and it was no good. North also had a field goal spoiled by a high snap to end the first half.

"I felt like we were doing a pretty good job of driving all night and getting out of sticky situations," King said. "But that time, we couldn't."

South's ensuing drive, QB Jarrin Alley got North to jump on a hard-count on fourth-and-1 and later, Alley hit Waldon for a 31-yard score for a 31-21 lead with three seconds left in the period.

"We knew we had to come out here and get it going," Waldon said. "Once we got a little bit of a lead, we were just worried about hanging on to it."

It wasn't easy. Next snap for North, Jorian Brooks took a short hitch, made two Panthers miss, and flew 80 yards for a stunning TD at the horn to keep it interesting.

"It was just all the team. The O-line stepped up. The defense stepped up, once we started to get a little shaky there, we just came together as a team," Smith said. "It was awesome. (North has) some great talent, too. That's what makes it so good.

King, Brooks soar into record books

It was an epic night through the air for both teams.

King was 25-of-39 for a school record 442 yards (breaking the 406 he hit Columbus North for last year). He also ran for 41 yards but had a couple of interceptions that proved costly.

"We game-planned to keep him in the pocket and he still got out a couple times," Smith said. "I'll take a little bit of the blame for that. Me and Noah Fox we work really hard. We tried to emphasize what they're good at and really tried to strip them of that. I think we did a good enough job tonight."

King's top target was Cole Grupenhoff, who had nine receptions for 108, but just one after halftime. Then there was Brooks, a sophomore who caught seven passes for 228 yards, likely a school record, too, and two TDs.

"Jorian's a hell of a player," King said. "He's going to be fun to watch and throw to for years to come."

Sophomore tight end Hunter Chitwood, a converted center as a freshman, caught a 10-yard TD pass in the first quarter for his first career reception.

All A's for Alley and Adams

Maybe the biggest difference on the night was that Alley didn't have to carry load but still had the biggest impact on the scoreboard.

The senior was 14-of-24 for 218 yards, didn't turn it over, and finished with six touchdown passes, three to Waldon (5 catches, 94 yards) and two to D'Andre Black (4-70), with Smith catching the other late to seal it. Alley was 6-of-8 for 100 yards after halftime.

"We really didn't do anything different, we just tried to execute better than we did in Week 4 (vs. North)," Waldon said.

But Alley also had a run game to lean on that was another big reason South was able to put the game to bed as Gavin Adams hammered North for 201 yards on 24 carries. He ran 16 times for 121 yards in the second half, finishing his night with a 33-yard gallop.

South had only two runs of 10 yards or more in the first half, then feasted late with six such explosive plays.

"First game (against North), we struggled a lot because they had a front we hadn't seen before," Adams said. "We had time to prepare for it. Time to study."

As a result, the Panthers put together scoring drives of 80, 80 and 72 yards in the second half.

"I thought we wore them down a little bit," Johnson said. "I think that's our weightroom and conditioning an who we are. We thought we could come in and maybe wear 'em a little bit and run the ball. We made some adjustments, too, to make sure were chunking out some big yards there.

"We're a better team when we can do that and keep the clock running. We knew we had to keep the chains moving."

And the field kept tipping in South's favor.

"It always their formula that they kill you with field position," Bless said. "That really was a big difference. They did a great job of making the game played on the correct end of the field for them. It made us really work for everything.

"We had responses and responses and responses, we kept swinging. But when they got going and they were able to grind it out on the ground, that's how you finish off a game."

BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 44, BLOOMINGTON NORTH 31

Bloomington South (9-1) 7 | 14 | 10 | 13 — 44

Bloomington North (9-1) 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 — 31

FIRST QUARTER

S: Lucas Waldon 12 pass from Jarrin Alley (Bryce Taylor kick), 9:25. S, 7-0.

N: Hunter Chitwood 10 pass from Dash King (Noah Nelson kick), 5:29. Tied, 7-7.

SECOND QUARTER

N: Joran Brooks 15 pass from King (Nelson kick), 11:22. N, 14-7.

S: Waldon 12 pass from Alley (Taylor kick), 8:41. Tied, 14-14.

S: D'Andre Black 26 pass from Alley (Taylor kick), 7:10. S, 21-14.

N: King 1 run (Nelson kick), 3:08. Tied, 21-21.

THIRD QUARTER

S: Taylor 41 FG, 9:49. S, 24-21.

S: Waldon 37 pass from Alley (Taylor kick), :03. S, 31-21.

N: Brooks 80 pass from King (Nelson kick), :00. S, 31-28.

FOURTH QUARTER

S: Black 21 pass from Alley (Taylor kick), 8:02. S, 38-28.

N: Nelson 32 FG, 6:17. S, 38-31.

S: Tysen Smith 9 pass from Alley (pass failed), 1:52. S, 44-31.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

Bloomington South (37-251): Gavin Adams 24-201, Ben Morrison 3-22, Jarrin Alley 9-18, Lucas Waldon 1-10.

Bloomington North (30-80): Kijuan Hayes 13-43, Dash King 15-41, Shaun Cooper 1-0, Trey Scott 1-(-4).

PASSING

Bloomington South (14-24-0-218): Alley 14-24-0-218.

Bloomington North (25-39-2-442): King 25-39-2-442.

RECEIVING

Bloomington South: Waldon 5-94, D'Andre Black 4-70, Tysen Smith 3-29, Jack Arnett 1-20, Adams 1-5.

Bloomington North: Cole Grupenhoff 9-108, Jorian Brooks 7-228, Tate Bless 4-43, Aidan Steinfeld 2-21, Hunter Chitwood 2-19.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Passing the test: How Bloomington South knocked out 5A No. 1 North