Last week, Columbus North took its shot at one of the country’s top high school football teams.
Tonight, Columbus East will get its chance.
The Olympians will face a monumental test when they visit Class 6A No. 1 Center Grove in the sectional final. The Trojans are ranked No. 17 in the country by USA Today and No. 23 by MaxPreps.
“Our kids are going to go in there and battle,” East coach Bob Gaddis said. “They’re excited about playing against arguably the best team in the state. If you’re going to be a competitor, you want to go out and play the best, and obviously, they’re very good.”
The Trojans are 10-0 and have outscored their opponents 410-73. Their only close games have been a 28-13 victory against Lawrence North and a 17-13 triumph against 5A No. 1 Cathedral to close the regular season.
“Our goal would be to come out and compete against an awfully good football team and try to hang around until the fourth quarter,” Gaddis said. “There’s only been a couple of teams that have been able to do that. But we have to worry about us. We have to play up to our potential.”
The Olympians (8-2) are coming off a 41-14 semifinal win at Franklin Central. East trailed 14-0 in that game before taking control.
The Olympians played their second consecutive game without senior Mark McDonald, their leading rusher each of the past three years. Gaddis is not commenting on McDonald’s status for tonight’s game.
Gaddis did say that senior wide receiver Trey Neal, who missed last week’s game with a back injury, will be out again tonight.
“We’re a little dinged up,” Gaddis said. “Everybody is a little dinged up at this time of year. We’ve had a lot of guys be able to step up in different roles. Hopefully, we’ll be able to have guys be ready to play.”
East senior Malachi Parks has completed 43 of 84 passes for 895 yards and nine touchdowns and carried 144 times for 1,198 yards and 13 scores. Junior Tryce Villarreal has carried 117 times for 666 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Crase Bergman has caught 12 passes for 299 yards and four scores for the Olympians, senior Charles Claycamp has 13 catches for 295 yards and four touchdowns.
For Center Grove, junior Tayven Jackson has completed 87 of 138 passes for 1,395 yards and 12 touchdowns and carried 38 times for 143 yards and five scores. Senior Carson Steele has carried 175 times for 1,160 yards and 21 touchdowns. Senior Connor Delp has 33 catches for 675 yards and four scores.
“There’s no glaring weakness, obviously,” Gaddis said. “They have a lot of different weapons on offense. They can run it and throw it. They don’t give up big plays. Nobody can have a perfect game, but we’re going to have to go out and compete every down and try to make something happen every down.”
The Trojans are led defensively by junior defensive tackle Caden Curry, who has multiple Division I offers, including Ohio State, and senior defensive end Austin Booker, a Minnesota recruit.
Center Grove also has weapons in the kicking game with senior kicker Austin Watson and with Jackson, who does most of the punting. In last week’s 42-7 win at North, they consistently kept the Bull Dogs backed up to start drives.
“The thing that jumps out to me on every single tape is, they win field position,” Gaddis said. “They keep their opponent backed up on a consistent basis. In high school football, there’s a lot to be said about field position. The key factor for us to be able to compete is that field position piece.”
With the Trojans allowing more fans to attend games than the other schools on East’s schedule, the Olympians may have to contend with crowd noise for the first time this season.
“Our games this year have been a lot like practices,” Gaddis said. “Our players have been able to hear everything we’ve been telling them. We haven’t been in a game where there’s been noise. If there’s going to be more than 500 people there, it’s going to be different this week. But we’ve practiced communication, and I’m sure our guys will be all right with it. It should be a fun environment for our guys to compete in.”
