The beauty was in the win

By Rex Kirts

The beauty was in the win for South in Friday's 13-9 Conference Indiana triumph over Columbus North.
It was a strange football game with lots of mistakes on both sides. But South will certainly take that victory.
The Panthers will accept it gladly because it came against a long-time rival and a good football program. They will take it because it snapped a two-year losing streak on Fred Huff Memorial Field. They will take it because it was Senior Night.
The Panthers will take it because, while everything wasn't smooth, they did make some plays.
And they will take it because they needed it.
This season has been a struggle, as foreseen long ago. Yet those who have stuck with coach Kirk Kennedy's program have continued to work hard and improve. Beating Columbus validated the struggle.
THE WIN GIVES SOUTH a 2-6 overall record and 2-4 conference record going into next Friday's regular season finale at Perry Meridian (2-6, 2-4).
The game plodded along for three quarters and erupted in major happenings in the fourth, when the Panthers scored all their points and made it scary for themselves at the finish.
Big-play people for South included Lucas Franz, Trae Washington, Michael Bower, Matt Henderson and Nolan Rogers. Also, Franz, Henderson and Clayton Fiddler had fumble recoveries.
Bower reversed himself for an eight-yard touchdown run and 6-3 Panther lead with 8:57 left in the game. Drew Barlow had a tough night kicking, starting with missing the PAT.
On Columbus' next series quarterback Keenan Noel was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-one from the Bull Dog 29-yard line, but he bounced outside and ran 71 yards for a TD and 9-6 Columbus lead.
Noel is Columbus' backup quarterback, playing for the injured starter. Noel did a couple of nice things but also fumbled the ball away twice and was intercepted late in the game.
ONE OF THOSE FUMBLES set the Panthers up on their 49-yard line with 4:04 left. Offensive coordinator Pat Cannon called for a flanker reverse with a pass, and Washington delivered the ball to Franz. It was a knuckleball of a throw, and Franz had to come back and wait on it. He made a nice catch and then stiff-armed his way to a 51-yard TD and 13-9 lead with 3;52 left.
"We just came off a turnover and thought we'd go for a big play," Washington said. "Lucas made an awesome play to get it into the end zone."
"We ran the reverse earlier in the game (with Washington carrying for a 12-yard gain)," Franz said. "We thought they might come up on it, and they did." The defensive backs came up, and this enabled Franz to get 10 yards behind the coverage.
Bower and Rogers combined for South's next big play.
Bower, who led the rushing with 26 carries for 79 yards from quarterback, plays in the "star" back in the nickle defense. Noel passed over the middle, and Bower delivered a crushing blow to the receiver. A few years ago, Panthers who made big hits like that got to wear black jerseys at practice the following week.
"I WAS JUST HOPING we could get this for the seniors," Bower said. "Coach D (Dean Walendzak the defensive coordinator) kept reminding us of last year (when Columbus won big), so it was nice to get the revenge."
When Bower hit the receiver the ball popped into the air and into the hands of Rogers, who returned it about 25 yards to the Columbus six-yard line.
The Panthers couldn't get the ball in, and Barlow missed a 22-yard field goal.
Noel completed a long pass to theSouth 24-yard line, but Henderson intercepted a pass at the South 29 with 1:39 remaining.
"I was on my man, but I saw another guy coming underneath, and I just broke on it," said Henderson, a sophomore.
The Panthers couldn't run out the clock, however, and Columbus blocked a "field goal" try by Barlow, recovering at the South 17-yard line with 0:04 left.
Columbus had time for one play. The receiver got open in the end zone, but the pass was incomplete.
THERE WAS an awful lot crammed into the final four minutes of the game.
"It wasn't a thing of beauty," Kennedy said. "This football team is still alive. We made a lot of plays and got over the hump.
"Coach Walendzak had a good defensive plan, and coach Cannon (offensive coordinator Pat Cannon) did a good job of being patient."
One thing Kennedy wasn't happy with was the punt protection. The Panthers have had punts blocked before, and Franz almost had another blocked in this game before scrambling for a 11-yard gain and a first down.
Instead of punting the rest of the game, Kennedy had Barlow kicking from the field goal formation. In either case, the ball is live.
The field goal style worked until Columbus came right up the gut and blocked one with 0:04 left.
"There was a mental error," Kennedy said. He thought about giving up a safety on Barlow's last kick attempt but didn't want to chance it since the Panthers hadn't practiced the situation.
"Some crazy things happened," Kennedy said. "Our kids hung in there and won the game. There was some hitting going on out there. Who knows what this team is capable of?"