RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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One of the main priorities for most coaches is to get out of the Week 0 scrimmages healthy.
At the same time, new Bloomington North coach Andy Harding wanted to get as many reps as possible for freshman quarterback Fisher Pugh and avoid any chances of injury. He got a few more than he was planning on at Dennis O. Martin Field on Friday, Aug. 14 in a two-hour controlled workout against Southport.
Pugh had to finish up the scrimmage with some of the backups after Tristan Stogdill rolled out to throw a pass, which fluttered well off target and ended his evening with an apparent injury. Pugh took a good lick in the final set of plays but bounced right back up.
More: Bloomington North football starting fresh with new coach, freshman QB
"We knew we wanted to get him a lot of reps," Harding said. "We were also getting Tristan Stogsdill some reps. I don't exactly know happened, but we didn't put him back in because (his arm) felt weird.
"I think he was having a little bit of fun tonight. I'm proud of him."
Pugh was plenty accurate most of the night, showing good touch on a pair of TD passes into the corner of the end zone. He got the ball to his best playmakers in Nate Walker and RaShon English on the perimeter, letting them go to work, spinning and making Cardinal defenders miss to pile up several highlight-reel plays. Blake Davis suffered a minor injury early and was held out as a precaution the rest of the way.
Pugh also didn't panic after dropping the snap in a goal-line situation, improvising and scoring. The Cougars helped him by running the ball solidly behind Carter Matthews and Brayden Johnson.
Defensively, North's group was flying early, allowing Southport only a couple first downs and no points in the opening set of 15 plays.
Senior end Gunner Pugh and linebacker Anthony Wrancher were as good as advertised, with Shamar Franklin, Rudy Burton, Seth Hankins and Kaelan Frank among those making some big stops. North tackled well and Jackson Gill picked up an interception in one of the late series.
"I'm a defensive guy so I want to set the tone where we can," Harding said. "I thought our linebackers stepped up, got everyone in position, filling spots and breaking on balls. I was pleased with what I saw from that crew.
"Up front, I thought Gunnar Pugh played his heart out tonight. Our defensive tackles were making plays in the backfield. Overall, I thought our defense set the tone."
The Cougars morphed into different looks all night long and stayed connected and in the right spots.
"We want to play sound, fundamental defense," Harding said. "I thought you saw that. It doesn't matter what they do, we're going to get lined up correctly. The linebackers are talking with each other."
North opens at home next Friday, Aug. 21 against rival Bloomington South.
Bloomington South at Lawrence Central
Bloomington South went up to Indianapolis to face a Lawrence Central team now under the command of former Ben Davis coach Russ Mann.
The Class 6A Bears usually provide a good test for the Panthers with their size, speed and athleticism, and this year was no different. It was tough but much needed outing after a rough week as far as practice time due to the weather.
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"We scored five times, they scored three times on our 1s and three times on our 2s," South coach Gabe Johnson said. "We rotated quite a bit. I was happy with the front end of our stuff. We kept it pretty vanilla. We just wanted to see our guys get out there and play hard.
"We saw some good and we saw some bad. The offense moved the ball well. Their team speed gave us some issues on the perimeter early, but we adjusted and settled in. They're big and strong and physical and we want that. We only got outside for an hour this week with the heat, then the lightning. We got in the gym, but we were limited in what we did."
Individually, South's top players handled it well. Quarterback Duncan Combs and running back Hayden Clark had the time and space to perform.
"Duncan and the O-line played really well," Johnson said. "The inside backers were solid. The receivers were pretty good blocking on the perimeter Hayden had almost 100 yards. The guys you expect played well.
"Our O-line pushed their front a little bit. It's a new group for us, so that was important."
Fisher Pugh finds Nate Walker for a 10-yard TD. pic.twitter.com/ws2hFRLcJ0
— Jim Gordillo (@JimGordillo) August 14, 2026 Edgewood at Indian Creek
Edgewood's defense and physicality were the stars of the show on a trip to Trafalgar to take on a potential sectional foe in Indian Creek.
"I thought it went really well," Edgewood coach Scott Fischer said. "The defense was a little bit ahead of the offense. The defense really played well. They were physical, really sound. We didn't give up big plays. They just did a really good job.
"Offensively, we moved the ball early, but sputtered a bit when we started subbing. We ran the ball hard. (QB Braylon) Linerode hit some really nice passes. Overall, just really pleased with the physicality. We w ere able to move guys around and stay sound."
More: Senior class ready to have a special year for Edgewood football
Fischer also noted some good play from receiver/corner Will Hosey, who had three pass breakups and an interception to lead a strong effort by the rebuild secondary. Toby Connors, Rowan Heitink were "lights out" at middle linebacker and Dylan Wickens and Evan Enghauser also stood tall at the outside spots.
Now, it's on to a tough home opener against Springs Valley.
"We keep stacking practices," Fischer said, "We'll have a chance to be pretty good."
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