After getting off to slow starts in its first two games of the season, Columbus East football coach Bob Gaddis stressed the importance of a fast start in Friday night’s Conference Indiana opener against Seymour.
The Olympians listened. They scored the first five times they had the ball in building a 35-0 halftime lead and went on to post their first win of the season, a 42-6 triumph for their 78th consecutive HHC win.
“It was really critical,” senior receiver Cody Horner said. “Coach Gaddis harped on us all week about the first six minutes and how critical it really is, and I think we took that to heart and came out and played hard, and it shows in the results.”
Class 5A No. 10 East (1-2, 1-0) led 14-0 after those first six minutes. A 37-yard pass from Cole Gilley to Dalton Back set up an 18-yard scoring pass to tight end Isaac VanCuren just 1:41 into the game. Gilley threw another 18-yard touchdown pass on East’s second possession, with that one going to Jacob Pierce.
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Then, it was a one-play drive, a 57-yard pass from Gilley to Cody Horner for a 21-0 lead.
“We came out strong,” Gilley said. “It was a great week of preparation. We really cranked it up in practice this week. We didn’t like how the year started off. The offensive line gave me all the time in the world, and the receivers were getting open. Coach Gaddis called the right plays. It was just an all-around good win.”
The Olympians running game took over in the second quarter. Mark McDonald went 51 yards for a score on fourth-and-3. Lance Greiwe added a 10-yard run, and the Olympians led 35-0.
Following a Jonah Wichman interception, East had a chance to add to its lead before halftime. But the Owls’ Evan Dover intercepted Gilley in the end zone.
Gilley threw for 178 yards in the first quarter and 218 in the first half. He finished 12 of 19 for 246 yards.
“We’re going to have to be able to throw the football to be successful this year, and I wanted (Gilley) to come out and get some confidence,” Gaddis said. “He had a really good week of practice and played that way.”
East added to its lead in the third quarter when Horner ran 28 yards for a touchdown on an end-around. Seymour (2-1, 1-1) got on the board with 5:41 left in the game on a 15-yard keeper by quarterback Brendan Smith.
The Owls, Nathan O’Mara, who ran for a school-record 345 yards in last week’s win against Jeffersonville, finished with 116 yards on 32 carries.
“That’s great for our kids,” Gaddis said. “They’ve worked hard, and they deserve to win some games. Seymour came in with a lot of confidence, and I thought we came out especially defensively and controlled their running back early, and offensively, we made some plays.”
McDonald carried 10 times for 142 yards for the Olympians. Horner caught four passes for 108 yards and carried twice for 30 yards.
“It was really nice to bounce back from the two losses that we had,” Horner said. “We had a really good week of practice. We started to be a team this week, and we played really well.”
