The Columbus North football team is in prime position to capture the Conference Indiana title.
The Bull Dogs posted a 32-14 victory over host Bloomington South Friday night, finishing on a 20-0 run in the second half. This is the sixth game of the season where the North defense held the opposition to 15 points or less, including two shutouts.
That victory sets up a likely winner-take-all scenario in the conference when the Class 6A co-No. 10 Bull Dogs host 5A No. 4 Bloomington North on Friday.
Columbus North (6-1, 3-0) got its offense going right out of the gate. The Bull Dogs mixed the run and pass to drive down the field. With the ball at the 23-yard line, North fooled the Bloomington South defense with a reverse play to find Garrett Long in the end zone for the touchdown. The extra point failed, leaving the Bull Dogs with an early 6-0 lead with 7:58 to go in the opening quarter.
Neither team found the end zone until late in the second quarter. This time, it was the Panthers. Quarterback Duncan Combs escaped the North pass rush to find Connor Parker for a 19-yard touchdown catch to make it 7-6 with 4:29 left after the Bryce Taylor extra point was good.
The Bull Dogs charged down the field before the half. Faced with a third down at the 7-yard line, the snap to Ratliff was over his head. Ratliff chased and grabbed it and scrambled to his left to find tight end Elijah Smith in the end zone for the touchdown. The 2-point conversion failed, and it was 12-7 with 1:06 left in the half.
Bloomington South (4-3, 3-2) scored on its first possession of the second half in the blink of an eye. The Panthers drove down the field, and a breakdown in North coverage led to Combs finding Sam Giles for a 29-yard touchdown to make it 14-12 with 10:25 left in the third quarter.
When it looked like Bloomington South was going to have momentum, the Bull Dogs chewed up a lot of time while driving down the field. North used a balanced attack of run and pass. Gino Prescott capped off the long drive with a 3-yard run to make it 18-14 after the 2-point conversion was no good.
After a punt by the Panthers on the ensuing possession, the Bull Dogs had great field position and took advantage. It only took a few plays in a drive that was capped off by another Prescott touchdown for a 25-14 lead following the extra point.
Bloomington South drove down the field on the ensuing possession, but then was faced with a fourth down. It was the defense that won the battle when Cole Finney got a fumble recovery to give North great field position. It didn’t take long until Ratliff ran it from 9 yards to make it a three-possession game at 32-14 with 6:35 left in the game.
The Bull Dog defense held the Panthers scoreless for the final minutes of the game to finish off the win.
Ratliff finished with 197 yards passing and three total touchdowns.
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