Bloomington South Panthers 1-2 vs Bloomington North Cougars 1-2
When: Friday, September 7, 7 p.m.
Where: Bloomington North High School
Last Meeting: (W) 34-6
Week 4 of Indiana high school football is here which means it’s the battle of Bloomington schools. South coach Mo Moriarity has had his way against North coach Scott Bless, posting a 7-2 record since returning to Bloomington South, not having lost since 2013.
It seems Bloomington South’s senior quarterback Trent Richardson is finally starting to feel comfortable in his new role as quarterback, only throwing three incompletions while rushing for 61 yards last week against Terre Haute North. For the Cougars, promising freshman quarterback Reece Lozano will make his fourth career start. Lozano is crafty and versatile, using both his arm and legs to shred defenses.
The main bright spot on the Panther offense is junior running back Maverick Thiery, who rushed for three touchdowns last week. The experierenced offensive line including seniors Sam Lewis, Zach Simon and Adam Frey, as well as juniors Naif Alharbi and Nate Taylor, have done a great job protecting the backfield.
“I think our offense really got clicking last week,” Thiery said. “Trent hit his targets, and the [offensive line] gave me good holes to run through.”
South’s defense is coming off a bounceback week making lots of big plays and only allowing 14 points. Watch for South senior Avery Thompson to continue to shred blocks and make a presence in the Cougar backfield, as well as junior Elijah Griffin who has stepped up the last few weeks for South’s defense. For the Cougars, junior linebacker Caleb McCoy has been the biggest defensive threat because of his knack to pursue the football.
“It’s really special to be playing against people that you know, people that live just a few minutes away,” senior linebacker Spencer Phillips said about the rivalry.
The winning streak against Bloomington North could likely continue if the Panther offense can play like they did against Terre Haute North. Both team’s quarterbacks have little experience and face defenses who have proven they are capable of forcing turnovers this season.
