Columbus North’s Zac Horn, right, hands off to Tyler Blythe during a football game against Columbus East at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Aug. 26, 2022.
The Republic file photo
Columbus North and Columbus East both kicked off their respective conference football seasons with wins last week, and now they’ll try to build on that momentum when they host games tonight.
The Bull Dogs will face Class 4A No. 2 Roncalli, while the Olympians will entertain Jennings County. Both kickoffs are scheduled for 7 p.m.
East is coming off its first win of the season, a 34-12 Hoosier Hills Conference victory against Seymour.
“It’s always nice getting a win,” East coach Eddie Vogel said. “I think we still feel like we have some things we need to improve on week-to-week. But I think that took some pressure off our guys. I think we competed for 48 minutes for the first time this season.”
North (2-1), meanwhile, handled Southport 47-14 in its Conference Indiana opener behind a school record-setting 224 receiving yards from senior Cooper Horn and record-tying four receiving touchdowns from Cooper Horn and five touchdown passes from senior Zac Horn.
“That’s our goal as a program, to get better one week at a time,” North coach Logan Haston said. “Every week, our goal is to go 1-0. We enjoyed the success we had Friday, but come Monday, we had to hit the reset button and do it all over again.”
For the season, Zac Horn has completed 60 of 85 passes for 698 yards and eight touchdowns. Senior Tyler Blythe has carried 43 times for 304 yards and two scores, and Cooper Horn has 18 catches for 357 yards and six touchdowns.
Roncalli (3-0) is led by senior running back Luke Hanson, who has 110 carries for 750 yards — to rank fourth in the nation — and nine touchdowns already in three games. Senior quarterback Arik Moyers is 18 of 41 passing for 146 yards and one score.
“Roncalli is one of the most elite programs in the state of Indiana,” Haston said. “They’re going to run the football. You can expect a smashmouth game. Luke Hansen is their guy, definitely a candidate for Mr. Football. We have to be ready to tackle because he’ll keep his legs driving. It will take all 11 guys on defense. Hopefully, we can keep them from making long drives and get them off the field.”
Columbus East players celebrate recovering a fumble on a kickoff during a football game against Seymour at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.
The Republic file photo
Meanwhile, East (1-2, 1-0) will take on a Jennings County team that is searching for success under new coach T.J. Newton. The Panthers (1-2, 0-1) fell to New Albany in its HHC opener last week after beating Brown County the previous week.
Olympians’ senior Ethan Duncan has completed 16 of 44 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Javeon Smith has 55 carries for 236 yards, and senior Chase Zapfe has caught five passes for 66 yards.
The Panthers run the Wing-T offense, operated by junior quarterback Sam Burkman, who is 17 of 37 passing for 178 yards and one touchdown. Senior Matt Hines has carried 36 times for 232 yards and three scores, and freshman Parker Elmore has two catches for 54 yards.
“We’ve always prepared for every opponent the same,” Vogel said. “I saw some good things from Jennings County watching on tape. They have a new offense this year, running the Wing-T. They’re much more solid on defense than the have the last several years. We want to practice to beat everybody, so we have some things we want to improve on internally. We have to prepare for Jennings County and the challenge that they’re going to give us this week.”
