Columbus East was hit hard by graduation following its Class 5A football state championship, but the Olympians have been in this situation before.
East also lost a huge part of its 2013 state title-winning team before coming back to make it within a last-second field goal returning to the state finals in 2014. This year, the Olympians are in a similar position after losing eight starters on both sides of the ball.
“I think the mix is probably about the same,” said Bob Gaddis, who enters his 18th year as East coach. “You hope that since there are so many new guys, you keep improving as a team as the season goes on. Our goal is always to be playing our best by the tournament.”
Unlike in 2014, when Markell Jones — who would go on break the state’s single-season rushing record and win Mr. Football honors — returned, East will be breaking in an entire new backfield this season. Junior Cole Gilley takes over at quarterback after completing 13 of 24 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns last season.
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Junior Lance Greiwe and sophomore Mark McDonald will carry the bulk of the load at running back. Greiwe carried 62 times for 479 yards and four scores, and McDonald added 52 carries for 314 yards and three touchdowns in backup roles.
Junior Dalton Back led the Olympians in receiving last season with 19 catches for 345 yards and three scores. Senior Cody Horner added 15 receptions for 325 yards and four touchdowns.
Seniors Jonah Wichman and Julian Greenwell, who are entering their third year as starters on defense, also play some at receiver, and senior Zach Pierce also could see action there. Senior Isaac VanCuren returns at tight end after catching five passes for 87 yards and a score.
The lone returning starter on the offensive line is senior Jacob Bolte, who moves from left tackle to right guard. Senior Dalton Anderson steps in at left guard. Junior Jake O’Connor and senior Jacob Sitterding will be the tackles, and sophomore Xander Brotzman steps in at center.
“We think they’ve gotten better,” Gaddis said. “There a are some guys in that offensive line right now like Sitterding and Anderson who are seniors that are getting their chance to play. They’re just an example of guys hanging in the program. They weren’t starters last year, but they have experience in our program, and they practiced against a pretty good team last year.”
The entire defensive line will be new, with junior Cory Harden and senior Matt Romig at end and junior Jacob Crouse and senior Degean Lambert at tackle. Junior Hunter Hilderbrand and sophomores Jesse Miller and Cam Shrum also will rotate in at tackle.
Senior Nash Murphy, who led East with 140 tackles, returns at middle linebacker. Greenwell moves from safety to strong-side linebacker, where he played as a sophomore.
Sophomore Parker Harrison, who played in some nickel packages last season, takes over at weak-side linebacker. Junior Tucker Schwarze, who also saw action last season, will figure into the mix at linebacker.
Wichman, who led the Olympians with seven interceptions, moves from cornerback to safety, where he will be joined by senior Trevor Foster, who was injured early last season. Juniors Tyler Settle and Zander Gentry step in at corner.
One place East will have experience is on special teams. Senior Sam Thomasson is back for his fourth year as the kicker, and Gilley returns as the punter.
Gaddis was happy with what he saw in Friday’s scrimmage against Martinsville.
“If we stay healthy, I think these guys will get better because they’re a good practice team,” Gaddis said. “They practice hard.”
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Columbus East is honoring the late Abbott Garn by including him on this year’s football roster.
Garn, who would have been a senior this year, died in an accident in February 2017, when he was a sophomore. He had played for the Olympians junior varsity squad the previous fall, wearing No. 49.
“I’m sure we’ll take his jersey to games,” East coach Bob Gaddis said. “The jersey will be on our sideline, so if people see that, hopefully they can make that analogy as to why.”
Last year, the Olympians wore helmet stickers with the letters “AG” to honor Garn.
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The 2018 Columbus East football schedule:
Friday;Whiteland;7 p.m.
Aug. 24;at Columbus North;7 p.m.
Aug. 31;Seymour;7 p.m.
Sept. 7;Jennings County;7 p.m.
Sept. 14;at New Albany;7 p.m.
Sept. 21;at Floyd Central;7 p.m.
Sept. 28;Madison;7 p.m.
Oct. 5;Jeffersonville;7 p.m.
Oct. 12;at Bedford North Lawrence;7 p.m.
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