Columbus East football found itself in another tough situation Friday when they welcomed Ohio powerhouse Pickerington Central.
The Tigers are top-ranked football team in the Midwest and No. 12 in the nation by USA Today. They won the Ohio big-school state title in 2017 and lost in the state semifinals last year.
The Olympians stayed tough with Pickerington Central, but eventually the Tigers showed why they are among the best teams in the country, scoring a couple times in the second quarter. Eventually, time ran out on East’s for a fourth quarter comeback, and they fell 20-14.
“I thought our kids really answered the bell. We talked all week about testing the character of our football team, and I thought our character came out,” East coach Bob Gaddis said. ”We played hard like a team. I am proud of our effort. I‘m not happy with not winning, but we talked about before the game trying to hang around and find a way to win at the end, and we almost did.”
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After the Olympians (1-2) punted on their first possession, they were starting to drive down the field when Lance Greiwe converted a 29-yard run. A couple plays later, the Pickerington Central intercepted a Cole Gilley pass.
The Tigers (1-1) couldn’t convert off the turnover, and Tyler Settle came up with an interception for East. Both teams punted on the next possessions, and it remained a scoreless tie after the first quarter.
Pickerington Central broke through on its opening drive of the second quarter. The Tigers were in East territory after a third down stop at the 35-yard line. On fourth down, Tigers quarterback Demeatric Crenshaw scrambled for a 35-yard touchdown, but the extra point failed, and they led 6-0.
After the Olympians turned it over on downs on the ensuing possession, Pickerington Central took advantage with a 4-yard run from Nick Mosley to go ahead 13-0 with 6:08 left in the first half.
After East punted the ball, the Tigers chewed up the rest of the clock and attempted a field goal with 2.3 seconds left. The kick was partially blocked, and the score remained 13-0 at the half.
Pickerington Central extended the lead to 20-0 after three quarters, but the Olympians got in the board with 4:05 left in the game when Mark McDonald ran from 3 yards out for the touchdown, but a missed extra point left it 20-6.
East picked up the onside kick, and with 2:18 left to play, McDonald got his second touchdown of the game with a 17-yard run. The successful two-point conversion made it 20-14.
The Olympians tried another onside kick, but the Tigers recovered and ran out the clock.
East now is through the meat of their schedule and will begin Hoosier Hills Conference play on Friday against Jeffersonville. Despite the rough start to the season, the Olympians still are considered the heavy favorite to win the conference. Their last conference loss was at Bedford North Lawrence Oct. 13, 2006.
“We got better this week, and we worked them hard, and they responded well. Hopefully, we keep getting better,” Gaddis said. “Now, we have six conference games rolling into the tournament. Our goal is always put ourselves in position to win the conference, and to be playing our best football in November.”
