It isn’t often that a coach and team can find positives in a 35-point loss, but for Columbus North on Friday night, it was anything but disappointment.
The Bull Dogs stopped Class 6A No. 1 Center Grove twice in the first half, outgained the Trojans on the ground and did what four of the Trojans’ seven Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference opponents could not do — put points on the board.
Those factors helped ease the sting of a season-ending 42-7 loss in the sectional semifinals.
“I was very happy,” North coach Tim Bless said. “Their talent at a certain point overwhelmed us, but as far as how hard our kids played and their execution of the game plan, we really stymied them early in the football game, and I’m proud of our kids’ effort. We’re going to walk off this field with our head up high as Conference Indiana champions and played our tails off against a nationally-ranked team that is absolutely loaded.”
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Center Grove (10-0), ranked No. 17 in the country by USA today, limited the Bull Dogs (6-3) to 25 yards passing. North outrushed the Trojans 153-147, but Center Grove junior quarterback Tayven Jackson completed 16 of 17 passes for 284 yards, 260 of which came in the first half.
Jackson got the Trojans on the board late in the first quarter with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Connor Delp. Center Grove, which had been stopped by the Bull Dogs on their first drive, had to convert a fourth-and-1 from its own 25 to keep the drive alive.
After the Bull Dogs forced a missed field goal on the Trojans’ third drive, North drove into Center Grove territory before having to punt. The Trojans then got a 10-yard touchdown run from Drew Wheat and added an 8-yard scoring run by Daniel Weems to lead 21-0 at halftime.
Two of the Bull Dogs’ first-half drives started at their own 8- and 10-yard lines.
“It’s always tough when you’re backed up,” senior running back Blake Huffman said. “When they have a defensive line like they do, it’s going to be tough to move the ball. I’m just proud of the way these guys responded to it. We ended up moving the ball later in the game, and even a little bit early in the game. I think a lot of times, we kind of shot ourselves in the foot, and when you play a great team like that, you can’t be doing that. But I couldn’t be more proud of my team and couldn’t be more proud of my coaching staff.”
Trailing 42-0, Huffman let North avoid a shutout. The Bull Dogs drove 78 yards in eight plays, with Huffman taking it the final 21 with about a minute to play.
“That defense hasn’t given up anything all season long, and we fought and clawed,” Bless said. “We got past midfield at one point there in the first half, and I thought, ‘OK, we have a little something going here.’ But obviously, they stiffened up. I’m glad for our boys that we were able to punch one in late and avoid the shutout.”
Huffman finished with 84 yards on 21 carries in his final high school football game.
“It’s a good cap on the career I’ve had here,” Huffman said. “I wouldn’t trade this program for anything in the world. I love this program almost more than anything else. These are my brothers. To be able to celebrate in the end zone after even a loss like that, it’s just good to go out on a positive note like that.”
