The Bloomington South Panthers are taking a road trip to take on the New Palestine Dragons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Bloomington South sitting on three straight victories and New Palestine on 25 (dating back to last season).
Bloomington South is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They claimed a resounding 55-7 win over Floyd Central. Considering the Panthers have won eight contests by more than 28 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Bloomington South's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Duncan Combs, who threw for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes, and also punched in one rushing score. Sam Giles also helped with two TDs in total.
Charlie Morris
| 11/14/25 vs Floyd Central | 8 |
| 11/07/25 vs Bloomington North | 9 |
| 10/31/25 vs Terre Haute South Vigo | 13 |
| 10/17/25 vs Center Grove | 11 |
| 10/10/25 @ Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory | 7 |
| + 4 more games |
Bloomington South didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Charlie Morris and Gabe Taylor. Morris has been hot for a while, having also posted six or more total tackles the last nine times he's played.
Meanwhile, New Palestine faced East Central in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Dragons strolled past the Trojans with points to spare, taking the game 20-6. 20 seems to be a good number for the Dragons as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.
Bloomington South better keep an eye on Caden Jacobia. He was instrumental in New Palestine's win, rushing for 160 yards and two scores while picking up 7.3 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards Jacobia has posted since back in November of 2024.
New Palestine was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 270 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as East Central only rushed for 139.
One reason for the win was New Palestine's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. Sam Hirschy was especially locked on to East Central's QB and sacked him twice. Garrett Ranes was another major factor on D, making 15 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Bloomington South's victory bumped their record up to 11-1. As for New Palestine, their win bumped their record up to 12-0.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground. Bloomington South has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 188.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like New Palestine struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 265.1 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Bloomington South was dealt a bruising 45-0 defeat at the hands of New Palestine in their previous matchup back in November of 2019. Thankfully for the Panthers, Charlie Spegal (who rushed for 277 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.5 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
