Columbus East had the game in control early, but then the offense lost its momentum.
The Olympians put up 13 points in their first three possessions, but then only managed 12 points the rest of the game. Fortunately, the East defense did its job by forcing punts and turnovers to defeat Jeffersonville 25-7 for another Hoosier Hills Conference football victory Friday night.
After the Olympians (3-5, 3-2) had to punt on its first possession, they got the offense going on the ground to pick up a couple of first downs. East went to the air when Keaton Lawson made the grab for the 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyson Villarreal to go ahead 6-0 after the extra point attempt failed.
On the kickoff, Jeffersonville (0-8, 0-5) couldn’t grab the ball, and East recovered the fumble. The Olympians went to the air again when Villarreal found Cam Herron for a 27-yard touchdown to go ahead 13-0 after Skylar Bailey made the extra point to make it 13-0 late in the first quarter.
The defense came through again for East. On the ensuing possession, Red Devil quarterback Nikolas Schindler threw to his receiver, and on the catch, the ball got loose and the Olympians recovered for great position once again. However, the drive would stall. East had to settle for the field goal when Bailey booted it through the uprights from 29 yards out to extend the lead to 16-0 early in the second quarter.
After a couple possessions from both teams didn’t result in points, the Olympians tacked on another Bailey field goal from 34 yards out to make it 19-0. That score would hold at the half.
Jeffersonville had its best drive of the game on the second possession of the second half. The Red Devils made two big pass plays to get it at the 25-yard line. The East defense stalled the drive. Being down three possessions, the Red Devils went for it on fourth down, but the passwas intercepted and the Olympians kept the opposition scoreless.
East added another touchdown midway through the fourth quarter when Tyler Weller punched the ball in for the 1-yard touchdown run. It was setup thanks to a fourth down conversion from Villarreal at the 10-yard line to keep the drive alive. The extra point failed to keep it 25-0.
Jeffersonville prevented the shutout and got on the scoreboard late in garbage time when Raijon Laird caught the 10-yard pass for the touchdown.
East will host Bedford North Lawrence in the regular season finale at 7 p.m. Friday.
