Fantastic Finish: North pulls out thriller with last-second TD pass

Columbus North’s Savion Miles (51), Keller Despain (66) and Luke Spurgeon (27) combine to wrap up Terre Haute North’s Damon Sturm (23) during a game at Max Andress Field at Columbus North High School.

Tommy Walker | For The Republic

Those among the homecoming crowd that left with Columbus North comfortably leading at halftime Friday night might be shocked to see the final score.

Leading 28-7 at the half, the Bull Dogs had to withstand a furious second-half rally by Terre Haute North to pull out a last-second 41-35 Conference Indiana win.

Zac Horn’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Damon Edwards with 9-tenths of a second remaining lifted Columbus North to a 41-35 victory after it looked like the game was headed to overtime.

“At the end of the day, you never apologize for a victory,” North coach Logan Haston said. “A win is a win. It’s a lot easier to sit in film the next day and correct mistakes after a win than it is after a loss. But we know that we did not play a complete game today, especially in that second half.”

The Patriots had cut the lead to 28-27 with 1:48 remaining and went for two and the win. But Luke Spurgeon came up with an interception in the end zone, then after a failed onside kick attempt, Tyler Blythe ran 57 yards for a 35-27 lead.

“TB is a playmaker,” Haston said. “He’s a game-changer. He sees the end zone, and he’s going to go score.”

That was enough time for Terre Haute North to drive down the field and score again, and this time, the Patriots made the 2-point conversion to tie the game with 52 seconds remaining.

The Bull Dogs (3-3, 2-0) then drove 66 yards in six plays, taking all but the final second.

Columbus North looked like it was headed for an easy win at halftime.

After holding the Patriots (1-5, 0-4) on their first possession, the Bull Dogs needed only three plays to get on the board. Zac Horn hit Cooper Horn for a 49-yard score and a quick 7-0 lead.

The next time Columbus North had it, Zac Horn used long passes for Nathan Palmer and Damon Edwards to set up a 9-yard touchdown run by Tyler Blythe.

The Bull Dogs got it back and a 23-yard run by Sam Mormino set up a scoring pass from Zac Horn to Cooper Horn on fourth-and-goal from the 2 with 1.8 seconds left in the first quarter.

Terre Haute North began to show signs of life, but missed a field goal. Then after holding Columbus North on downs, the Patriots drove for their first score on a 9-yard run by Damon Sturm with 2:02 left in the first half.

The Bull Dogs weren’t content to run out the clock. They went 72 yards in 11 plays, with Zac Horn hitting Cooper Horn from 8 yards out with just 3.4 seconds left in the half, and Columbus North led 28-7 at the break.

Zac Horn finished 21 of 30 passing for 332 yards and four touchdowns. Blythe carried 17 times for 168 yards and two scores. Cooper Horn caught six passes for 106 yards and three touchdowns, and Edwards had four catches for 102 yards and the game-winner.

All but one of Cooper Horn’s catches came in the first half.

“They started doing some things with the corner and safety to bracket over the top, and taking him out of the game,” Haston said. “That’s where other guys have to step up, and obviously we saw that on the last touchdown. Both the corner and safety took Cooper on the play, so Zac found Damon. We have enough guys on our offense that can make plays that if they start to do that, we have other guys that can step up.”

BOXSCORE

TH North;0;7;7;21;—;35

Columbus North;21;7;0;13;—;41

CN—Cooper Horn 49 pass from Zac Horn (Osian Guest kick), 8:13.

CN— Tyler Blythe 9 run (Guest kick), 3:00.

CN—C. Horn 2 pass from Z. Horn (Guest kick), :01.8.

THN—Damon Sturm 9 run (Jack Butwin kick), 2:02.

CN—C. Horn 8 pass from Z. Horn (Guest kick), :03.4.

THN—Sturm 2 run (Butwin kick), 6:56.

THN—Jaden Wayt 7 pass from Bryson Carpenter (Butwin kick), 11:55.

THN—Wayt 25 pass from Carpenter (pass failed), 1:48.

CN—Blythe 57 run (Guest kick), 1:31.

THN—Sturm 3 run (Sturm run), :52.

CN—Damon Edwards 38 pass from Z. Horn (kick failed): :00.9.

Individual statistics

RUSHING — Terre Haute North: Sturm 32-156, Carpenter 21-105, Donovan Wright 1-13. Columbus North: Blythe 17-168, Sam Mormino 8-43, Z. Horn 7-25.

PASSING — Terre Haute North: Carpenter 14 for 32, 221 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. Columbus North: Z. Horn 21-30-332-4-1.

RECEIVING — Terre Haute North: Conner Bray 6-105, Wayt 6-89, Sturm 2-27. Columbus North: C. Horn 6-116, Edwards 4-102, Blythe 6-58, Nathan Palmer 4-48, Leon Brown 1-8.