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Bloomington South 23 Terre Haute South 21 (4:05, 2nd) THS faced a few 3rd and longs only to pick up first downs and scored on a long pass play to tighten the game.

Bloomington South 23 Terre Haute South 14 (7:46, 2nd) After a THS Brave fumble at their 35 yard line, the South Panthers took just two plays to add to their lead.

Bloomington South 16 Terre Haute South 14 (09:02, 2nd) After the THS score, the South Panthers ran the ensuing kickoff back for a TD to regain the lead.

Terre Haute South 14 Bloomington South 9 (9:17, 2nd) On a drive, THS went for it on a 4 and 3 fairly deep into Panther territory and picked up the first down, eventually scoring on the possession.

Bloomington South 9 Terre Haute South 7 (2:20, 1st) The South Panthers didn't waste any time in grabbing the lead after the safety, scoring on a 45-yard pass play.

Terre Haute South 7 Bloomington South 2 (2:57, 1st) B-South drove to the THS' 10 yard line but fumbled the ball away. They got a safety on the ensuing Braves possession.

Terre Haute South 7 Bloomington South 0 (7:07, 1st) The THS Braves received the opening kickoff and had a nice drive of 70 yards to take an early lead.

I don't have a horse in this race, but I've been to games at Castle when South played them, and Castle was always a hard out on their home field. I know absolutely nothing about the Castle team this year and can only go by South's games there in the past. I would have the tendency to go with Knights based on past experience there by the Panthers. Having said that, I hope the Highlanders come out victors in that game. If they do, Evansville North (probable next foe) will be an even tougher out.

My sectional predictions for CI teams with the favorites in boldface: 6A Sectional 7: Southport (1-8) @ Indy Arsenal Tech (4-5) To me, this is pretty simple. Tech has the better record but Southport has played the better schedule. Arsenal Tech lost to a struggling 4A Brebeuf Jesuit team, 42-7. The Cardinals take the game by three TDs before being taken out in the second round. Harrell's site prediction: Southport 31 Arsenal Tech 21 6A Sectional 8: Columbus North (4-5) @ Franklin Central (4-5) The North Bull Dogs have lost five of their last six games with their only win during that period over a dreadful Terre Haute North team, 42-0. Franklin Central hasn't been much better and have lost five of their last seven games. FC has played a somewhat tougher schedule and they are at home, so I'm going with the Flashes by 10 points in this game. Harrell's site prediction: Franklin Central 35 Columbus North 28 5A Sectional 15: This is an all-CI sectional. Terre Haute South (7-2) @ Bloomington South (8-1) Bloomington South beat the Braves during the regular season, 49-14, in Terre Haute. The TH South Braves have won seven of the last eight games with their only loss during that period being the aforementioned game with the Panthers. The Panthers played Center Grove tight in the first half during their regular season ending game with the Trojans but were outscored 14-0 in the second half of that game. The Panthers may not win this game by the same margin as they did in the regular season, but I see them taking the game by two to three TDs and will move on to face the winner of the Terre Haute North/Bloom. North game. Harrell's site prediction: Bloomington South 35 Terre Haute South 28 Terre Haute North (0-9) @ Bloomington North (6-3) The Bloom. North Cougars beat the TH North Patriots, 56-0, during the regular season, and the Patriots have been blown out in every game they have played in this season. The Cougars can name the score in this game with a running clock written all over it. The Patriots should keep the busses running when they arrive so they can get a quick exit back to Terre Haute. Harrell's site prediction: Bloomington North 42 Terre Haute North 10

Terre Haute South 49 Columbus North 40 (final)

Terre Haute South 49 Columbus North 40 (2:57, 4th) They certainly played steady, disciplined football tonight and I can't say the same for South.

Center Grove 33 Bloomington South 12 (final) The Trojans are a well-coached team that doesn't hurt themselves with very many mistakes, and I can think of only one big mistake by them in this game which was an early pick that South scored on. On the other hand, South hurt themselves several times in this game with self-inflicted mistakes that contributed to the loss. Good teams don't hurt themselves with self-inflicted mistakes. I'm not saying that the Panthers are not a good team, they just weren't in this game, and I think the step-up in competition may have affected the play since it was probably a bigger game for them than the Trojans (IMO), and the pressure may have gotten to them.

Center Grove 33 Bloomington South 12 (4:23, 4th) After a deflected pass was picked by the Trojans with South fairly deep inside Trojan territory, they went on a drive that was set up by an incredible catch that put them in Panther territory. South has been their own worst enemy in this game to include a sure TD pass that was dropped.

Bloomington North 48 Southport 0 (half)

Center Grove 26 Bloomington South 12 (end of 3rd) South has the ball at their 42-yard line to start the 4th. South's first two possessions of the 3rd were disappointing to me as an armchair/bleacher coach in that they were way too conservative and ran two plays into the line and then an obvious pass play on 3rd down, which resulted in punts both times. CG has a pretty good d-line.

Center Grove 26 Bloomington South 12 (6:23, 3rd) After both teams punted to start the 3rd, CG pinned South deep on a punt and after some conservative play calling, the Panthers punted giving the Trojans a fairly short field which they took advantage of to score a TD.

Center Grove 20 Bloomington South 12 (half) After a South receiver dropped a sure TD pass with nothing between him and the goal line, CG moved within FG range and kicked a FG with no time left to give them an eight-point lead at the half. South needs to make adjustments at the half over the cushion their corners are giving as the Trojans have been picking up easy yardage on short passes in the flat with the coverage playing too far off the receivers.

Center Grove 17 Bloomington South 12 (3:22, 2nd) CG kicked about a 33-yard FG to add to their margin.

Center Grove 14 Bloomington South 12 (8:59, 2nd) South scored on a 50-yard pass to TE Jalen Williams. Two-point conversion try failed.

Center Grove 14 Bloomington South 6 (10:39, 2nd) This has been a game of picks, at least lately in the game. After CG handed South a pick earlier, South QB Duncan Combs returned the favor with a soft pass that floated right into the hands of a defensive lineman at the South 27 yard line. CG scored on a pass play out into the flat.

Center Grove 7 Bloomington South 6 (end of 1st)

Center Grove 7 Bloomington South 6 (2:10, 1st) South pressured the CG QB who threw a pick which was nearly a pick-6 with the ball ending up at the two yard line with South scoring on a running play. The extra point was blocked.

Center Grove 7 Bloomington South 0 (9:18, 1st) CG received the opening game kickoff, and barely picked up a first down on the initial series. They then ran off guard and when the runner broke the line of scimmage there were no defenders out there in what had to be a breakdown on the defensive side.

Good to see you are still around. IMO, South's defensive front seven has played really well this season with the secondary being suspect at times in their coverage and would be considered the weaker part of the defense. I know in the Columbus North game, the corners were giving too much cushion to the receivers and the front seven was not getting much pressure on the Bull Dog QB, which resulted in two TDs in the 1st qtr for the Bull Dogs. After adjustments, they tightened up their coverage and started putting pressure on Ratliff, and the Bull Dog offense pretty much struggled the rest of the game. The Center Grove game tonight could come down to the secondary vs the Trojan receivers, and that certainly has me concerned. Hopefully, we can get enough pressure on the Trojan QB to help the secondary out. We have also given up three kickoff returns for TDs this season, and that possibly caused the Panthers a trip to the 5A state championship game last season when Decatur Central ran a kickoff back for a TD with 2:23 left in the game to break a `13-13 tie. The penalties have been a big issue this season, but for the most part, they have cut down on the major penalties (mostly holding calls on the o-line) in the last couple games, so there is some improvement there, and they can't afford to have that problem arise again against Center Grove.

I forgot about the Elmore injury, and he's been a big target for Ratliff this season. The Bull Dogs have the better QB in Ratliff, but I believe that the Braves have the better running game with sr RB Tyisaac Corbin lining up in the backfield. It will be an interesting game.