FLOYDS KNOBS — The offense of Columbus East wasn’t disappointing once again. The Olympians used a well-balanced attack in both the passing and running game to jump out on Floyd Central early and spoil the Highlander homecoming with a 45-0 Hoosier Hills Conference win Friday night.
“We played pretty well after the first couple possessions,” East coach Bob Gaddis said. “Floyd Central is a good team, and they were well-prepared. They came after us pretty well like I thought they would. We had a great week of practice and a good week of preparation, and our kids played that way. It wasn’t just offense, defense or kicking. We were solid in all areas.”
After East (4-2, 4-0) was forced to punt on its first possession, they drove down the field in the second offensive series. Mark McDonald capped off the drive with a 5-yard run to put the Olympians ahead 7-0.
After the defense forced a Highlander three-and-out, East got the ball in good field position near midfield. The Olympians once again drove down the field and Lance Greiwe scored a 6-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 14-0.
After Floyd Central failed to drive down the field on its possession, East continued to add to the lead when Sam Thomasson kicked a 29-yard field goal to make it 17-0.
On the last possession of the half, the Olympians thought they had another touchdown added to the scoreboard, but a holding penalty was called. That didn’t matter to Cody Horner, who ran 17 yards for the touchdown for a 24-0 lead at halftime.
Greiwe then got his second touchdown to start the second half on a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 31-0. On East’s next possession, Greiwe got his third touchdown of the game with a 2-yard run to extend the lead to 38-0.
On the Highlanders ensuing possession, a fumble was forced and Nash Murphy came away with the ball to give the Olympians good field position. East quarterback Cole Gilley threw a 20-yard pass to Dalton Back for the final touchdown of the game.
“Our offensive line is starting to play well, and we have a lot of confidence in both of our running backs,” Gaddis said. “For us to be successful, with good kicking game and good defense, we got to be able to run the football. I thought we threw the ball really well tonight, but we have to be able to run.”
