GREENWOOD — For the second week in a row, Columbus East found itself trailing 14-0 less than halfway through the first quarter.
This time, the Olympians couldn’t recover.
A week after rallying for a sectional semifinal win at Franklin Central, East had all kinds of problems at Class 6A No. 1 Center Grove. The Trojans jumped out to a 48-0 halftime lead and went on to post a 55-7 win to capture their 10th consecutive sectional title.
“They came out and took it to us early,” East coach Bob Gaddis said. “We just didn’t respond very well. We made some uncharacteristic mistakes, and you can’t do that against a team like Center Grove. They came after us.”
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The Olympians (8-3) made Center Grove (11-0) put together a long drive for its first score, even forcing the Trojans to convert a fourth-and-1 to keep the drive alive. It ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Carson Steele.
Center Grove then recovered an onside kick to get the ball back. Three plays later, Tayven Jackson hit Harrison Stomps for a 10-yard score, and the Trojans led 14-0 before East ran its first offensive play.
The Olympians marched into Center Grove territory on a 16-yard pass from Malachi Parks to Charles Claycamp, but the drive stalled, and they had to punt. The Trojans then put together and 83-yard drive, capped by a 22-yard run by Drew Wheat with 22 seconds left in the first quarter.
Things only got worse in the second quarter for East. A fumble gave Center Grove the ball at the Olympians 25, and Jackson hit Mason Long for a 6-yard touchdown. Then after a bad punt snap gave the Trojans the ball at the East 15, Steele took it in on the first play for a 34-0 lead.
The Olympians then managed a pair of first downs, but had to punt, and Mitchell Evans returned it 72 yards for a score. Jackson added a 26-yard touchdown run before the half.
The Trojans’ last three touchdown drives in the first half started at the East 25-, 15- and 26-yard lines.
“As I said going into the game, the thing that always jumps of the film for them was, they always have good field position,” Gaddis said. “When you’re going a long field or against a short field for them, that’s really tough.”
The Olympians got on the board on the first offensive play in the second half. Senior quarterback Malachi Parks kept it and outran the defense for an 80-yard touchdown run.
“He’s a competitive guy,” Gaddis said. “He’s been the heart and soul not just of our offense, but of our whole team since the pandemic started. He had a great career for us.”
Parks finished with 16 carries for 69 yards and competed 2 of 8 passes for 27 yards. Claycamp caught both passes.
Center Grove had a balanced offense. Jackson completed 6 of 8 passes for 111 yards and two scores. Twelve Trojans carried the ball, led by Steele with nine rushes for 67 yards and two touchdowns.
East, which won its 17th consecutive Hoosier Hills Conference title this season, was playing in 6A for the second consecutive year after moving up from 5A because of the IHSAA’s Tournament Success Factor. The Olympians will return to 5A next year.
“I was proud of our kids,” Gaddis said. “We have a lot of kids that have really good careers. As I told them after the game, we had a lot that we accomplished. We beat North and won the conference, and winning our first 6A playoff game was huge. We just ran into a buzzsaw tonight.”
