Terre Haute South had no answer for Columbus North’s Giovani Alejandro in Friday’s Conference Indiana football matchup.
Alejandro had four total touchdowns, 126 yards rushing and 95 yards receiving to lift the Bull Dogs to a 45-14 rout in the regular-season finale, allowing them to finish in a tie for second in the conference.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our seniors. It’s something we talked about all week. It’s something we talk about every year,” North coach Tim Bless said. “I think if you look at Bull Dog football history, we play great football on senior night. Year in and year out, our seniors step up and sometimes from different people, and this year was much of the same. I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.”
On the opening possession for the Braves, they were able to move the ball into red zone before the drive stalled. The 30-yard field goal attempt by Ashton Hayne was blocked.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
On North’s opening possession following the block, Alejandro caught a 35-yard pass down the sideline to continue the drive, then ran it in for the touchdown on the next play from 22 yards out to give the Bull Dogs (5-4, 3-2) a 7-0 lead.
On Terre Haute South’s ensuing possession, a pass by quarterback Caleb Stultz was intercepted by Nash Johnson, who returned it to the 11-yard line. North was able to convert off the turnover with a 7-yard touchdown run from Blake Huffman to extend the lead to 14-0.
After the Braves were forced to punt, the Bull Dogs were in business once again, driving down the field with the running attack. Alejandro finished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown to make it 21-0.
Terre Haute South finally stopped the bleeding when Stultz made several big completions down the field. Stultz then found James Mallory for a 10-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 21-7.
Just before the end of the first half, North was driving down the field and chewed up the clock to 4.3 seconds left. That allowed Carter Ward to kick a 37-yard field goal, which was the Bull Dogs’ first successful field goal this season, for a 24-7 halftime lead.
The long halftime didn’t stop the Bull Dogs from pouring on more points. On the opening drive in the second half, Alejandro ran for an 18-yard first down, then caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from Luke Hammons to extend the lead to 31-7.
North s iced the game on the next drive when Royce Lofton scored on a 22-yard run, then Alejandro added his fourth touchdown of the night with a 35-yard run, which led to a running clock the rest of the game.
