Friday takeaways: Bloomington North regains its balance in Terre Haute
The past two weeks for Bloomington North's football team are the kind that can test what sort of leadership and gumption are present.
The Cougars look to be in good shape in both departments, bolting out to a 21-0 lead and putting away Conference Indiana foe Terre Haute North on the road, 55-34 Friday. It was a 21-point win that wasn't as easy as that might seem, but the quick start (and a strong finish) ended up making all the difference.
"I think they came out with great confidence in themselves, individually and as a team collectively," North coach Scott Bless said Saturday. "I was really impressed with that from the start.
"They were due. we played two good teams and had two tough losses. So it's a great sign of their character that they kept plugging away and preparing. They believed they could do it."
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The Cougars (2-3, 1-2 CI) were able to get the run and passing games going as Dash King (25-of-35) threw for 310 yards and five touchdowns — two to Jarno Hicks (9-123), one each Aidan Steinfeldt (9-84), Tate Bless and Cole Grupenhoff) and Cody Mikulich (133 yards) ran for two more. A sixth Cougar found the end zone, as defensive end Larry Staples, who tipped a pass, caught it and covered 17 yards for the score.
"Early on offensively, we had great balance in the run and the pass," Bless said. "We had them on their heels. When you get your run game going, it sets everything up. We did a great job establishing the run and mixing in play-action passes. And we were able to take shots down the field because we were in great down and distance situations.
"Defensively, we really recreated the line of scrimmage. We flew to the football. We had a lot of team tackles and good pursuit to the football. We played downhill."
THN, led by QB Bryson Carpenter (249 yards passing/45 rushing) and RB Damon Sturm (138 yards rushing) found its footing with a 20-point third quarter that cut the deficit to 34-27. What came next was just as pleasing as the 21-point start as the fourth began with a Tate Blass TD catch and Staples' pick-six.
"We showed great resolve," Scott Bless said. "Nobody hit the panic button. I felt really good about the defense when it was 21-0, but they hit some big plays. (Carpenter) had a beautiful throw that we had well-defended, but he just dropped it in the bucket and the receiver made a great play. There was one big run by Sturm.
"But I still feel like we played a good defensive game. The one time we turned the ball over, you could tell the defense had great resolve to do their job and help fix this. And it was fun to get that defensive score."
Special teams also helped out as Mason Miller gathered in an on-sides kick that took a big hop, the Cougars blocked a PAT and the kickoff coverage kept the Patriots in check. Punter Graham Freund also had a punt die inside the 5.
Run over on the road
Edgewood pulled out its traveling white jerseys for the first time and it was a rough trip that ended with a 60-7 loss to South Putnam.
Edgewood welcomed back lineman Logan Anderson to the lineup, but his hamstring balked at one point. The Mustangs had to be careful with quarterback Jacob Murphy after he suffered several hard hits on sacks against Owen Valley the week before.
The Mustangs also had turnovers, but they might have been just the most visible problem. Football demands 11 players be on the same page, and that wasn't the case against the Eagles (4-1), who are ranked ninth in 1A.
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"First series, guys decided not to block the way that we coached them all week," Edgewood coach Caleb True said. "So we went three-and-out. Defensively, we knew how they were going to line up. They score and we're behind early.
"We can't get any consistency up front. Our technique is poor and that's on me. I've been working with (assistant) Kyle Goble with them all year and their aggressiveness is not where it should be."
It isn't helping that in-game adjustments and coaching are more difficult with Edgewood using all but a small handful of players both ways. For instance, Murphy and freshman center Carter Hayden are the only members of the offense True and his staff can huddle with between possessions.
But lack of fundamental and physical play are letting the Mustangs (1-4) down as much as anything, something Indian Creek, Sullivan and Northview will be more than happy to expose the next three weeks. True has a few players willing to push back, but not enough.
"We've got the skill guys to move the football, but if we can't create running lanes or make time for the quarterback to get it to our guys, the same things are going to keep happening," True said. "Defensively, the tackling is poor. We've got guys going two ways because we're thin with injuries. It's just tough for us.
"But it has to be all-hands on deck. We're shying away from blocks. We're soft and it shows on film. This is a tough, physical sport. We have two guys playing that way and the other nine have got to get their minds right and be ready to attack. I'm trying to do everything I can to get this spun around 180 for our seniors. They deserve better."
Short shelf life
Last week was a party. This week, the cleanup.
That's life in the sport of football, where each game brings its own set of challenges, matchups and, in Eastern Greene's case, a wide gulf in the final result. The T-Birds, coming off their most productive game in four years, were humbled, 41-6 at Clarksville.
"Out motto is, this week, it doesn't matter what we did the week before," Eastern coach Travis Wray said. "That's the lesson. I'm not happy with the outcome, but it's good lesson to learn for the team."
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The Generals went marching again behind senior running back Robert Lamar, who racked up 318 rushing yards.
"We faced probably the best athlete we'll see all year in their tailback," Wray said. "I told them that going in that we had to tackle well.
"Watching film, we were in tackling position, we might have been a half-step slow here and there, but the kid lived up to his hype. No one's held him under 100 yards since his sophomore year. We had no answer for him, he was just breaking tackles. Our big nose guard, (370-pound) Darrel Burton had him in the grasp and he broke it and went on a 60-yard run."
It was 35-0 before Eastern could answer.
"We just got beat up along the offensive line," Wray said. "And they were ready for the toss play we used against Mitchell. They loaded up for that. We had some success between the guards and we were able to move the ball in the third. But they brought pressure on the perimeter and we couldn't quite match it.
"We're a bigger team and they were smaller with a lot of speed and we didn't have the speed to match up. That's something we'll need to address in the off-season."
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Friday takeaways: Bloomington North regains its balance in Terre Haute
