The Optimist

Matt Wilson

Staff Writer

Fans who attended last Friday’s game between Bloomington South and Bloomington North, witnessed a dramatic down to the wire finish for a much heated rivalry. The Panthers matched up against arguably the best running back in the state in D’Angelo Roberts. South’s defense made sure to review all previous game tapes of the sensational running back, but the junior from North showed no signs of slowing down as he racked up a total of 162 yards on 30 carries along with three touchdowns as the Cougars won this historic battle 28-21. “We watched film and stopped at the different runs,” junior defensive back Drew Volz said.

This big win for the Cougars was their first win against the Panthers since 2003, and just the ninth in the all time series between the two.

North jumped out of the gates early when Roberts ran in for a three yard run to make it 7-0. Later in the first quarter, South junior quarterback Joey Forney found senior wide out Nate Peck for a 17-yard touchdown to tie the score up 7-7.

The second quarter mainly featured Roberts, as many carries later he found his way for a 14-yard touchdown run. Although South senior running back Jordan Hogue’s name was not heard nearly as much as Robert’s last Friday, his performance on the other hand spoke for itself. Hogue repeatedly grinded his way past the Cougar’s defense whenever called to do so as he refused to let the Panthers go down this easily. While many thought that the running game belonged to Roberts, Hogue proved that his ability was just as gifted as he ran for a total of 170 yards on 20 carries along with two touchdowns. Those two touchdowns couldn’t have come at a better time. While being down 14-7 in the third quarter, Hogue along with the effort of Forney led South’s offense down the field. Forney did his part with short passes to key targets such as Peck, Lucas Franz, Michael Bower, and Trae Washington. Forney finished the night 9-23 for 131 yards and a touchdown pass. The key play of the drive was Hogue’s 14-yard touchdown run to tie the game up for a second time at 14. With momentum back on the Panthers’ side and the student section cheering them on, Hogue broke free for a 46-yard touchdown run to give South their first lead of the night, 21-14 with 2:47 left in the third quarter.

North regained composure in the fourth quarter as Tieken completed a 15-yard touchdown pass, leaving the Panthers with little breathing room as possible as the lead found its way to only one. Extra points always seem like a given, but in this case it wasn’t as North’s Conner Fitzgerald missed the game tying kick to leave South’s lead at 21-20. To most South players, this was their favorite moment. When asked, Volz replied with “when North missed an extra point.”

Roberts then silenced the loud Panther student section as he coasted in for a ten-yard touchdown run with only 40 seconds remaining in the game. The score put the Cougars up 26-21 and had no choice but to attempt a two-point conversion to try and make the lead seven. North’s quarterback Tieken converted the two-point attempt to make the lead 28-21. This forced the Panthers to go for a touchdown no matter what and not have the opportunity to try a field goal with less than a minute to go.

South was able to return the following kickoff for a major gain. This set Forney up with the ability to throw for short to moderate gains, and not just long attempts. A 15-yard gain from Forney to Peck moved South into cougar territory, only the North defense answered with a sack and pass in completions. Those key defensive plays ended Forney’s drive with a failed Hail Mary attempt, and South’s chances of coming away with a victory at home.

A major part of South’s momentum came from their student section. South student and fan Ayanna Ince commented on her outfit. “I wore my little sister’s shirt and wrote southside on the front, and Theo Carver’s name and number on (the) back,” Ince said, “I had suspenders, pig tails, and purple converse.” Although their spirits were high, the score at the end of the game was upsetting to all the fans. “Overall, I was a little disappointed, but just wait until basketball season,” Ince said.