BLOOMINGTON — It was too little, too late for the Greenfield-Central Cougars on Friday night as their offense couldn’t gain traction during a 17-14 loss to Bloomington North.
The Cougars were in a hole early as host Bloomington North scored on its opening possession on a 32-yard scamper by quarterback Ben Freel. That was it for the scoring in the first half as both defenses remained stingy until after the halftime break.
North had an opportunity for points late in the second quarter, but a personal foul penalty turned a fourth-and-inches into a fourth-and-15, and the ensuing field-goal attempt was missed.
Bloomington North’s penalties kept Greenfield-Central close; they had 12 total penalties, six of which were personal fouls.
In the second half, Cougar receiver Mike Hoskins began to assert himself. After the Cougars found themselves down 14-0, Hoskins caught a 7-yard touchdown pass to put Greenfield on the board.
Bloomington North kicked a field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to go up 17-7, but on the Cougars’ first play after the kickoff, Leslie found Hoskins again for a 79-yard touchdown pass to make the score 17-14.
Hoskins would finish with five catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
The teams traded punts until Greenfield-Central got the ball back with 3:02 remaining, when again Hoskins made a big 32-yard catch to put the Cougars in scoring position with a chance to go for the victory.
The Cougars had a run down to the Bloomington North 20 on the next play, but it was wiped out by a holding penalty, and the Cougars were not able to score.
The victory was Bloomington North’s first since 2015. Greenfield-Central’s record falls to 1-1 on the season. The Cougars will look to get back in the win column as they start Hoosier Heritage Conference play next week when they host Mt. Vernon at 7:30 p.m.
