Drew Schiefer
Friday’s Conference Indiana game between Columbus North and Bloomington North lived up to the billing.
It came down to a single possession for the Bull Dogs. The Cougars got the go-ahead touchdown with 44.7 seconds left to send them home with a 31-28 loss.
On Bloomington North’s final possession, quarterback John Bargen found Blake Davis for 28 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The Bull Dogs had a chance for a game-tying 40-yard field goal with five seconds left, but the kick was blocked.
Columbus North (4-4, 2-2) and Bloomington North (5-3, 2-2) both established good drives on their second possessions, but both came away empty as the defenses put a stop to both drives.
The Bull Dogs finally broke on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter when Parker Elmore caught a deep pass that went for 37 yards that brought it to the 19-yard line. Ezekiel Scruggs then ran it to the 1-yard line on the next play. Asher Ratliff then called his own number for the quarterback sneak for a 7-0 lead with 2:36 left in the first half after the extra point from Charlie Parsons was good.
The Cougars responded right back before halftime. They patiently drove down the field, and looked for a deep pass, but then a pass interference was called to keep the drive alive. It proved costly after Davis caught the a through the seam from Bargen for the touchdown with 11.7 seconds left to tie it at 7-7 at the break.
When Bloomington North got possession first in the second half, the Columbus North defense came up big when there was a forced fumble and recovery to put themselves in good field position at the 36-yard line. On the ensuing possession, the Bull Dogs used a trick play that fooled the Cougar defense, and Morgan Knapp hauled in a pass at the 1-yard line. Columbus North punched it in when offensive lineman Drew Schiefer had a rare opportunity to run it in for a score to go ahead 14-7.
A couple of possessions later, Bloomington North converted a fourth-down play to pick up the first-down. With the ball at the 20-yard line, Carter Matthew was nearly untouched as he ran it into the end zone from 20 yards out to tie the game at 14-14 with 6:24 left in the third quarter.
On the Cougars’ next possession, the Bull Dogs made a key stop to only allow a 35-yard field goal that gave the Cougars a 17-14 lead with 31.3 second left in the third.
Elmore then showed why he’ll be playing at Indiana University next year when he ran past his defender to make a huge 46-yard to catch to take it to the 27-yard line. Later in the drive, Elmore took the snap and ran it in from the 7-yard line for the touchdown for a 21-17 lead with 9:19 left in regulation.
On the ensuing possession, the Cougars scored quickly when Bargen threw a pass deep to an open Nathan Walker, who ran it for 52 yards for the touchdown to jump back ahead 24-21 with 7:19 left.
North retook the lead again when Knapp caught a huge pass on fourth down to keep the drive alive. Sam Perry then ran it in for a 1-yard touchdown to go ahead 28-24 with 1:27 left, setting up the final sequence.
