Columbus North and Bloomington South are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2014, but not for long. The Columbus North Bull Dogs are taking a road trip to square off against the Bloomington South Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Columbus North is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Terre Haute North Vigo: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Columbus North blew Terre Haute North Vigo out of the water with a 51-10 final score. Given the Bull Dogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked tenth, while the Patriots are ranked 128th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Gino Prescott was his usual excellent self, rushing for 188 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.9 yards per carry, and also picking up 31 receiving yards and a touchdown. His longest rush was for an incredible 70 yards. Jordan Briner was in the mix as well, providing Columbus North with two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Columbus North was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 251 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Terre Haute North Vigo only rushed for 107.
One reason for the win was Columbus North's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for seven sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Luke Russell and Evan Saevre, who racked up five sacks between them. Saevre is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last six games he's played dating back to last season. Cole Finney was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making ten total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, while Bloomington South put up plenty of points on Friday, the same can't be said for Southport. Bloomington South breezed by Southport on the road to the tune of 41-0. That looming 41-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Panthers yet this season.
It was another big night for Braylen Townsend, who rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns. He is becoming a predictor of Bloomington South's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 1-2 when he doesn't).
Bloomington South's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Quincy Brahaum and Ben Godar. Another thorn in Southport's side was Elijah Whitney, who made 14 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Columbus North pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. As for Bloomington South, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-2.
Friday's match will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Prescott and Townsend. Prescott has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 116 rushing yards per game this season. For his part, Townsend has averaged 146 rushing yards per game this season.
Columbus North took a serious blow against Bloomington South in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, falling 49-14. Thankfully for Columbus North, Jarrin Alley (who threw for 330 yards and five touchdowns while completing 82.6% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
