Bloomington, IN – Bloomington South travels across town to battle Bloomington North Friday night in the annual battle for Bloomington high school football supremacy. Having grown up in Bloomington and attending one of these schools, I can attest to the intense rivalry these two programs have. Since Bloomington High School split into North and South in 1972, South has been completely dominate in football leading the series all time 44-14. SISN will be there with our tremendous coverage so let’s pack those stands Bloomington, and get LOUD for some great Southern Indiana football!

Game Preview

Bloomington South

Third year Head Coach Gabe Johnson looks to lead his Panthers to a 4th straight victory against North. South comes into the contest Friday night 2-1 on the year with their lone loss coming to SISN’s 2nd best team in Southern Indiana, Martinsville. The panthers are coming off of a dominating win over Terre Haute North Vigo last week, annihilating the Patriots 55-7. South will look to get up big with their high-powered offense who averages almost 360 yards and nearly 5 TD a game. Watch for South to try and pound the ball on the ground early and often to try and open up the Cougar’s D. South does not want to play around with North and let them stay in the game, they will look to try and put away the Cougars as soon as they can.

Players to Watch

Senior QB Zach David

Zach has had an up and down season but came on strong last week going 14-15 for 237 yards and 2 TD. If he can duplicate the type of performance from last week it’s going to be a long night for the Cougars’ secondary.

Junior RB Gavin Adams

Gavin has been solid in every performance this year. He is an integral part of the Panthers’ dominating rushing attack pacing South with 54 carries for 342 yards good for first on the team and 7th in 5A. I imagine the Panthers will get him the ball as often as possible.

Junior LB Ralph Rogers

Rogers is a tackling machine and rarely gets beat on D. He leads the team in tackles per game with 10.7 which is good for 9th in 5A. North better check their scouting report and try to keep the ball away from Rogers or he will wreak havoc on the Cougars’ offense.

Bloomington North

17 Veteran Head Coach Scott Bless looks to end the Panthers’ 4 game winning streak against his Cougars. North comes into the game 1-2 on the year with their lone win coming at Bedford North Lawrence. North runs a very balanced offense. They are averaging 174 yards through the air and 165 on the ground. Bless will likely continue to try and confuse the Panthers’ D by being as versatile as they can so as to keep South’s defense guessing. North lost their last contest to Terre Haute South Vigo 34-20. The Cougars gave the ball away 3 times on interceptions and will need to shore up their decision making this week.

Players to Watch

Senior WR Jarno Ksander-Hicks

Jarno is the Cougars’ best option at WR. He has a knack for finding the open spots in the opposing D and is on pace to have his best year ever statistically. If his QB can make good decisions and find him in the right moment in the right spot he could have a huge game against the Panthers.

Sophomore QB Dash King

Dash has thrown for over 500 yards and 5 TD in only 3 games but also has shown a tendency to be loose with the ball. He has thrown 4 picks in those 3 games. Dash has shown the ability to be able to take over a game but he will need to refine his decision making if he looks to take down the Panthers.

Junior Safety Drew Ogden

Drew is the type of versatile player that every coach wants on their defense. He can come up and stop the run and defend the pass with the best of them. Through 3 games he has amassed an amazing 9.7 tackles a game with 1 pick and 4 passes defensed. Look for Drew to improve on this early success and give the Panthers headaches all night.

SISN Fan Prediction

We at SISN have a thought as to how this game will turn out but we want to hear from you! Vote below for who you think will come away as the kings of football in Bloomington.

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