PANTHER FOOTBALL, historically speaking, ranks among the top programs in the state in career wins. It also includes two state championships, a state runner-up and the longest winning streak in state history.

With records dating to 1923 when Ralph Esarey was coach of the Bloomington program, Panther teams are near the top of the state in number of career wins, up there with such schools as Indianapolis Cathedral, Evansville Reitz and Hobart.

The tradition started a bit slowly but began picking up when Harold Mumby, the original architect of the very successful wrestling history of the Panthers, became football coach in 1927. Mumby was 89-75-12 in 19 seasons. The old Bloomington High School was near of 2nd St. and College Ave., and the football field occupied the space where Rally’s Hamburgers is now. That field was named after Mumby.

The modern era began in 1947 when Fred Huff, Jr. took over as coach, and Panther fortunes began to grow rapidly. Huff was 154-61-13 in 23 years, was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1975 and had the current field named after him in 1993. Huff was the head coach when the Panthers began a 60-game winning streak in 1967. It’s still the longest winning streak in Indiana history, counting regular season and tournament games.

Huff was the head coach for the first 21 of the 60 straight wins. Tom Sells moved up from assistant to head coach in 1969 and won 39 straight. The streak ended in the first game of the first year of the playoffs, 1973. Sells was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

Coach Dave Enright took a couple of teams to the semi state from 1982-86. After him came Mo Moriarity, and the next 15 years saw the Panthers win state championships in 1993 and 1998 and finish second in 1997 for the most successful era in history. Moriarity was 143-31 for an amazing .821 winning percentage. His teams won seven sectionals, six regional’s and three semi states.

Current coach Drew Wood has a solid start to his coaching career with a 36-18 record in five years. His teams won Conference Indiana championships in 2005 and 2006.