Columbus North’s Garrett Long, in black, breaks a tackle by Terre Haute South’s Imer Holman during a football game at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Oct. 13, 2023.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Originally, it was a broken play, but it turned out to be the difference maker for Columbus North.
After a bad snap following the go-ahead touchdown, holder Jackson Haston won a foot race to the end zone on the far left side for a 2-point conversion to put the Bull Dogs ahead by eight points. Terre Haute South scored a touchdown late, but the game-tying two-point-conversion failed and North held on to take third place in Conference Indiana with a 22-20 victory on senior night.
On the Terre Haute South attempt for the two-point conversion, quarterback Brady Wilson had the one-on-one on the right side, but the pass was out of the receiver’s hands to help preserve the win with 3:21 left. The Braves never saw the football again, as the Bull Dogs converted a key first down to end the game.
“For the seniors, you always want that last home game to be meaningful,” North coach Logan Haston said. “We got the win and hope these seniors will cherish this for a long time.”
After both teams punted on their first possessions, the Bull Dogs (4-5, 3-2) fumbled the ball on their next possession, giving Terre Haute South (4-5, 2-3) good field position. The Braves took advantage when Wilson threw to A.J. Watkins for a 17-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Terre Haute South was driving down the field on its next possession when running back Zyeiar White found daylight after avoiding a couple tackles and ran into the end zone. However, White was stripped of the ball before he broke the plane. The Bull Dogs recovered in the end zone for the touchback.
That ended being a huge momentum swing as North drove down the field. Quarterback Asher Ratliff ran it to give the Bull Dogs a goal-to-go situation, but a holding penalty was called to bring the ball back. Facing fourth down, Ratliff found Braylon Thoman for the first down. It led to Ratliff finding Gino Prescott for an 18-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:44 left in the first half.
On the Braves first possession of the second half, Wilson found Watkins for a 27-yard touchdown. However, the touchdown was called back due to a holding called on the offensive line. After the penalty, Wilson went to the exact same play, and Watkins made the catch for the touchdown to extend the lead to 14-7 with 8:44 left in the third quarter.
North responded late in the third quarter when Ratliff went for the deep ball and found Garrett Long open down the right side. Going across the field to left side, he fumbled just before the he crossed the plane. However, Jordan Briner was there to pick up for ball for the touchdown to tie it at 14-14 with 38 seconds left in the third.
The Bull Dogs broke the tie when Prescott ran for a 17-yard touchdown. On the extra point attempt, a bad snap forced Jackson Haston to run it to the end zone. He made it across the goal line for the two-point-conversion to go ahead 22-14 with 5:14 left in the game. That set up the final sequence.
“We settled into the game. We realized we were beating ourselves and were making a lot of mistakes and not playing great football,” Logan Haston said. “That starts with the defense. We talked about bite, being better at the elements in the pouring rain, backs against the wall, they’re marching down the field, we‘ve got to get the two-point conversion stop. That is the definition of being better in that tough element, and they answered the call.”
Even though it was the last regular season home game for the North seniors, they and the rest of the Bull Dogs will host Jeffersonville in the Class 6A sectional semifinal on Oct. 27.
