Columbus East’s Caaden Gault celebrates after scoring a touchdown against New Albany at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.
The Republic file photo
After getting back on the winning track last week, Columbus East will try to keep that momentum going heading into the postseason.
The Olympians will conclude the regular season Friday at home against Bedford North Lawrence. With a win, East (3-5, 3-2) would tie the Stars (5-3, 4-1) for second place in the Hoosier Hills Conference.
“We’ll try to correct some things and do better against Bedford, and then we’ll get a couple of weeks to prepare for Seymour,” East coach Eddie Vogel said. “We’re just trying to build off a win from last week and get some momentum going into the tournament. It’s senior night, and you want to put on a good performance for those guys that have been a part of our program.”
The Olympians put together a solid defensive effort in a 25-7 win at Jeffersonville on Friday.
“I think we played really well defensively and were able to force some turnovers and then were able to turn those into points,” Vogel said. “I thought we played with really good effort, and we executed in the kicking game. We traveled and got off the bus and played really well.”
East sophomore Kyson Villarreal has completed 48 of 102 passes for 586 yards and five touchdowns and carried 100 times for 615 yards and four scores. Senior Tyler Weller has 86 carries for 442 yards and six touchdowns, and sophomore Keaton Lawson has caught 19 passes for 266 yards and three scores.
BNL is coming off a 50-0 win against Madison. Senior Memphis Louden has completed 61 of 135 passes for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns and has carried 89 times for 463 yards and nine scores.
Junior Cal Gates has carried 75 times for 630 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 13 passes for 266 yards and four scores for the Stars. Senior Ryker Hughes has 11 catches for 263 yards and four touchdowns.
“They’re more of a spread team,” Vogel said. “They’ll still get into some of that two-back stuff. They’re a talented team. They have some good players on offense, a good quarterback and a good tailback. It will be a challenge for us to get them slowed down.”
