Seven of the past eight years, Columbus North has had its football season ended at the hands of Center Grove in the sectional.
Columbus East will get the first shot at the Trojans this postseason. Thanks to the IHSAA Tournament Success Factor, the Olympians are playing in Class 6A this season and will host Center Grove in the sectional opener at 7 p.m. Friday.
"The bye (week) has been really good," East coach Bob Gaddis said. "We have two weeks to prepare for an unfamiliar opponent, so that’s been good. We have a lot of respect for what they’ve been able to accomplish, and we’re looking forward to playing against one of the best programs in the state."
Prior to the Trojans’ run of eight consecutive sectional titles, the Olympians went on the road and upset Center Grove 27-13 in the first round of the 2010 sectional when both were 5A programs. The previous year, the Trojans won 21-14 at East in the sectional semifinals.
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"Last time, they were primarily just a Wing-T team," Gaddis said. "Now, they get in a spread offense, very similar to what we do in the shotgun. We’re not sure which offense they’re going to come in and run against us, or if it will be a combination of both. Our players are having fun getting prepared to go against a good team."
Gaddis and the Olympians received some good news last week when several players who missed the end of the regular season with injuries returned to practice. That included quarterback Cole Gilley, running back Mark McDonald, left guard Jesse Miller and outside linebacker Parker Harrison.
Linebacker TJ Barkhimer, who has missed most of the season with an ankle injury, has been cleared to start jogging today.
"Obviously, they’re all good players and have started a lot of football games for us," Gaddis said. "The other thing is, we’ve had some other players step in and give us some good minutes at those positions, so we have some depth there."
Center Grove, on the other hand, likely will be without perhaps the state’s top running back in junior Carson Steele. Steele missed the first half of the season with a hamstring injury and now is recovering for a broken foot.
"We’ve just prepared against what they have," Gaddis said. "We haven’t seen him on tape at all. Their defense is very solid. They’re very good against the run, and they’re very sound against the pass. They don’t give up a lot of big plays. Their offensive line is really good."
Sophomore Daniel Weems, who has carried 152 times for 845 yards and seven touchdowns, and junior Connor Delp, who has 88 carries for 536 yards and two scores, have been the bulk of the offense for the Trojans. Sophomore Tayven Jackson has completed 53 of 119 passes for 715 yards and three touchdowns with eight interceptions.
Center Grove recovered from a 1-4 start to finish the regular season 4-5. All five losses came against ranked opponents — three in the rugged Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference — plus 5A No. 1 New Palestine and 5A No. 3 Cathedral.
"I’d say that’s a pretty tough schedule with the MIC and those two," Gaddis said. "Those are probably two of the top 5A teams in the state."
Gilley has completed 92 of 163 passes for 1,577 yards and 22 touchdowns, with only one interception. McDonald has carried 105 times for 951 yards and 11 scores, and Dalton Back has 37 catches for 710 yards and 10 touchdowns. Lance Greiwe has added 83 carries for 521 yards and seven scores and 26 catches for 432 yards and six touchdowns.
East (7-2) has won six in a row following a 1-2 start. The Olympians will be in an underdog role similar to when they went on the road and upset New Palestine in the first round of the 2016 sectional and Cathedral in the 2017 semistate.
"We’re not used to going into games being the underdog," Gaddis said. "That’s just where we are with our program. When you get a chance to be the underdog, it kind of changes your focus."
