Asher Ratliff
It was another dominant showing by the Columbus North football team Friday night.
The Bull Dogs controlled all three phases of the game to continue its best start to the season since 2018 with a 45-14 Conference Indiana victory at Southport.
This is the fifth win in a row for North (3-0, 1-0) over the Cardinals and eighth win in the last nine matchups.
The defense led the way again for the Bull Dogs. They forced two safeties. A huge sack in the backfield by Garrett Long ended a Southport drive, and an interception from Jackson Haston also stalled a Southport drive.
The only blemish in the first half for the North defense was an offside penalty that resulted in a first down. The Cardinals later converted that into a touchdown to lead 7-0.
It was all Bull Dogs from that point forward. They scored on four of five first half possessions. The drive they couldn’t convert resulted in a fumble at the goal line.
Braylon Thoman
Jordan Briner ran for the first North score to tie the game at 7-7. Quarterback Asher Ratliff found Braylon Thoman for two touchdowns, and then Gino Prescott also added a touchdown run. The score was 31-7 at the half.
Gino Prescott
Things got much quieter in the second half. Prescott scored his second touchdown on the night from 1 yard out to put the Bull Dogs ahead 38-7 with 4:53 left in the third quarter. Midway through the fourth quarter, Ratliff ran it for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 45-7 and trigger a running clock.
Riley Matlock then scored a late touchdown for the Cardinals with less than three minutes left in the game.
North will host Roncalli at 7 p.m. Friday. The Royals have won the past four matchups with the Bull Dogs.
