Defense 'makes a statement' as Bloomington South football slams Franklin

Bloomington South's defense had something to prove — and two weeks of chomping at the bit to do it.That pent up energy following a loss at Center Grove was unleashed on Franklin in their Class 5A Sectional 15 playoff opener on Friday, Oct. 30. The overwhelmed Grizzly Cubs had just one first down, punted nine times on their first 10 possessions and finishing with just 72 yards as South rolled onward, 63-0 at Huff Memorial Field."We wanted to come out and really attack them," South senior safety Rylan Stikeleather said. "Coming off a loss against Center Grove, we just came out in the second half kind of lackluster, so we wanted to come out and make a statement tonight."It was great to leave a '0' on the board and come out and play a great game. The offense, whole team, great outing."More: Seniors ready to leave lasting legacy on Bloomington South volleyballIt's the sixth time this season a South opponent has scored seven points or fewer and a great way to get started toward a sixth straight sectional title."That Center Grove game, I think we showed that we could bring the physical piece to it," South coach Gabe Johnson said. "As long as we can bottle that up and keep going." Franklin running back Cori Tonte was the target of their ire. Coming in with almost 1,700 yards rushing and 200 receiving, he never ran for more than four yards on any of his 12 attempts, finishing with 16 total. And when he did get past the line of scrimmage, it seemed someone was getting barked at for letting it happen.That's just how determined the defense was."Really good job of handling him well and keeping him behind the sticks," Stikeleather said. "Giving the ball to our offense and letting them play." Franklin (4-6) was bottled up all night with an average start at the 16-yard-line. That was thanks to Sam Stolberg's lofty kickoffs that either went into the end zone or landed inside the 5, giving the Panthers' speedy gunners time to track down the return man inside the 20 every time.The Grizzly Cubs finished with just 72 yards of offense. Of their 31 rushing yards, 26 came from their third string back against South's JV defense in the final minutes, the only time Franklin crossed midfield."The (Tonte) kid's the leading rusher in their whole area," Johnson said. "And we thought they ran the ball well. We just got after them. It's a strength for us, stopping the run."Our kids do a great job. We had a great week of practice and coming out to hold him to (13), for us to come out and do that against a kid that has kind of ran the ball on everyone a little bit. We want to be playing our best ball right now." South also came up with three sacks as QB Vaughn Wyatt completed just five of his 10 passes."Getting after the quarterback and not giving him time to throw the ball was big," said Stikeleather, whose big hit on a receiver caused the game's only turnover. "And we really got after him. Our D-line did a great job getting pressure and not letting them run the ball."It sets up an all-Bloomington sectional final next week at North as the Cougars (5-5) downed Seymour, 40-7."Coming into this, we had to show its playoff time and we're going to be the best that we've been all season, and that needs to stay that way," Stikeleather said.Offensive explosionAs far as the 63 points goes, quarterback Duncan Combs was able to take advantage of Franklin's young secondary, tossing five TD passes while going 10-of-13 for 221 yards.Three scores went to Connor Parker, who finished with 140 yards, and two went to Maysen Lewis (6-63).The run game piled up 165 yards on 24 carries, with Myles West going for 72 yards and two scores.The modest 386-yard total was due to seven of South's scoring drives starting on Franklin's 40-, 32-, 38-, 15-, 30-, 36-and 37-yard lines. Six of the drives needed just four plays or fewer."For us right now, it's a moment that we want to take advantage of," Johnson said. "Having 31 seniors, they sure don't like to lose." Bloomington North rips SeymourThe Cougars jumped up 20-0 and held strong in the second half.It took a bit to get going, but a long touchdown run by Carter Matthew got North going. The Cougars ended the half on a high note with quarterback Nate Walker rolling out on a busted play and scoring to create the 20-0 lead."We started off a little slow," North coach Andy Harding said via phone. "It was back-and-forth defensive battle early before we busted out the long run to get ahead."Then we ended the half on a really good note. The defense got us the ball back and got into our two-minute offense and they executed it."More: Bloomington North's Roberts family fighting odds, waiting for a miracleThe defense was stout throughout."Ant Wrancher and Caelan Frank were lights out," Harding said. "Our front three, Trae Shields, Mattheus Wynalda and James Mason were holding down the middle, with Quinn Reynolds rotating in there. We were following up on everything we wanted to do. They tended to run to the tight end side, and we planned some things for that."It was 34-7 after three quarters, with the Owls (3-7) scoring their only points after a long punt return. "Our goal was to get up 35 and get the running clock going, but it didn't work out that way," Harding said. "But the boys fought hard and played hard. I'm pleased. It was a gritty win. We've got to clean up some stupid mistakes, but the good news is we're 1-0 and tomorrow we'll get back at it, 0-0."Class 5A roundupElsewhere in the southern half of the 5A bracket, Castle and Floyd Central saw three touchdowns and three lead changes in the last four minutes of their Sectional 16 battle, with Castle scoring last and converting the two-point try with 14 seconds left to upset the Highlanders 30-29.Castle (6-4) will play host to Evansville North (5-5) in the sectional final, who was a 40-7 winner over New Albany.In Sectional 13, New Palestine (7-3) held off Pendleton Heights 53-35 and Cathedral (7-3) whipped Mt. Vernon (Fortville), 42-7. The Irish host next week.In Sectional 14, Plainfield (8-2) ran over Arsenal Tech 57-0 and Terre Haute South (6-4) did the same to Terre Haute North, 49-7. The Braves will play host next Friday.This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Defense 'makes a statement' as Bloomington South football slams Franklin