Football Preview: Bloomington South Panthers vs. Southport Cardinals
The Bloomington South Panthers will face off against the Southport Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Southport took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Bloomington South, who comes in off a win.
Bloomington South took a loss when they played away from home two weeks ago, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Terre Haute South Vigo 36-34.
Braylen Townsend was his usual excellent self, rushing for 168 yards and three touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Duncan Combs, who threw for 191 yards and a touchdown while completing 88.2% of his passes.
Bloomington South wouldn't let Terre Haute South Vigo keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Bloomington South can thank Quincy Brahaum and Ben Godar for forcing both of them. Godar also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 13.
Meanwhile, Southport was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their sixth straight loss dating back to last season. They fell 44-34 to Heritage Christian. One positive for the Cardinals, at least, is that this was the most points they've scored all season.
Despite the defeat, Southport got top-tier performance from Riley Matlock, who rushed for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Southport was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 228 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Southport's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Ricky Sanders, Jeremiah Stanovic, and Stanovic picked up one apiece. With that strong performance, Dalyn Traylor is now averaging an impressive 6.2 total tackles per game.
Bloomington South pushed their record up to 3-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Southport, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.
Everything came up roses for Bloomington South against Southport in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, as the team secured a 59-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Bloomington South since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
