Columbus East’s Seth Lankey (42) is mobbed by teammates Blake Borkhart (85), Laird Stidham and Caaden Gault after sacking New Albany quarterback Kenneth Watson during a football game against New Albany at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Columbus East has bounced back from a slow start this season with big wins in its past two football games.
The Olympians will look to continue that roll on Friday when they host Class 5A No. 9 Floyd Central in a key Hoosier Hills Conference battle.
“We’ll have a tough test on Friday night when Floyd Central comes in,” East coach Eddie Vogel said. “We have some good teams ahead of us, and we have to continue getting better if we want to give ourselves a chance to win.”
The Olympians (2-3, 2-1) followed a win at Jennings County with a 42-13 thrashing of New Albany on Friday. The Bulldogs scored on the first and last offensive plays of the game, but got nothing inbetween.
“We’ve played well defensively the last two weeks,” Vogel said. “The two wins we’ve gotten have really been a product of putting together good weeks of practice. We’ve practiced well, and if we want to continue to play the way we have been, we have to continue practicing like that.”
The Highlanders (4-1, 2-0) come in averaging 39 points a game. Senior quarterback Tristan Robertson has completed 48 of 82 passes for 804 yards and 10 touchdowns and has carried 35 times for 236 yards and four scores.
Senior Mitch Bernardi has 87 carries for 525 yards and six touchdowns. Junior Isaac Kaiser has 19 catches for 450 yards and six scores.
“They’re pretty balanced,” Vogel said. “They’re just a very fundamental football team in all phases. They’re coached very well. They’re physical, and they’re fast. They have a receiver that can go up and catch the ball. Then on defense, they’re very similar defensively to us in that they primarily four-down (linemen) front, which is something we really haven’t seen this year, other than practicing against ourselves.”
East sophomore Kyson Villarreal has completed 39 of 69 passes for 487 yards and three touchdowns and carried 68 times for 465 yards and four scores. Senior Tyler Weller has 70 carries for 436 yards and seven touchdowns, and sophomore Keaton Lawson has 17 catches for 245 yards and two scores.
Floyd Central and Bedford North Lawrence are the only two remaining teams who are unbeaten in the HHC, and they play each other next week. With the Olympians getting a shot at both of them at home, they realize that a conference title is within reach.
“I think our guys understand that,” Vogel said. “That’s one of the things that I’ve tried to champion with our guys — anything can happen in our conference like it has the last couple years. Floyd Central beating Seymour opened the door for us. Our guys are excited. We’ve been practicing much better, and those things are showing up in games.”
