JD Rotert
NORTH VERNON — After giving up an average of more than 42 points a game over the first three weeks of the football season, Columbus East was hungry for a big defensive showing Friday night.
The Olympians held Jennings County to 31 yards of total offense and posted their first shutout since 2022 in a 37-0 Hoosier Hills Conference win.
“I know we played better, and that was the result of a better week of practice,” East coach Eddie Vogel said. “They came out and kind of showed that jump in improvement tonight, so I’m proud of those guys. It’s not easy to shut anybody out. We will take it, but we just have to get better on that side of the ball, really both sides of the ball and all phases.”
The Olympians (2-2, 2-0) were especially stingy against the run, allowing only 11 yards on 38 carries. Senior linebacker Bige Asher came through with three sacks.
Bige Asher
“I think we just worked together as a team really well,” Asher said. “Hustling to the ball, we were full of energy on defense. We were just flying around out there.”
East had the ball for only about 14 of the 48 minutes, thanks mostly to some quick scoring drives. The Olympians had it for only a little more than three minutes in the first half, yet led 30-0.
“I think guys are starting to really understand our defense a little bit better,” Vogel said. “We’re a lot more gap sound. I wasn’t super pleased with some of our tackling. We had some plays where we missed some tackles. But that first half, we only had the ball for three minutes, so for them to be on the field that much and really not give a whole lot up, Jennings was able to do a few things, but I thought guys responded well. It should be a boost of energy for those guys moving forward.”
After the Panthers (1-3, 0-1) took the opening kickoff and had the ball for more than half of the first quarter, East had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Aarav Nihalani on its first possession. The Olympians then forced a Jennings punt, and the snap went over the punter’s head, with East recovering at the 1-yard line. JD Rotert took it in from there.
Rotert scored two more touchdowns the next two times the Olympians had the ball, running it in from 6 and 7 yards out. He finished with 67 yards on seven carries.
“It’s pretty awesome just having a big win like this,” Rotert said. “Obviously, all the credit goes to my O-line. They had a phenomenal game. They were finishing yards and yards down the field every single play. It was amazing.”
Kyson Villarreal
East got the ball back with 1:13 left in the first half, and after a penalties on each team, needed only one play to score. Kyson Villarreal hit Keaton Lawson in stride for a 36-yard touchdown, and the Olympians led 30-0 at halftime.
A 50-yard kickoff return by Mykel Jones to open the second half set East up for its final score of the night. Villarreal took it in from 5 yards out, triggering a running clock for the rest of the game and ending the night for the offensive starters.
“It’s nice,” Villarreal said. “Coming out here and winning a conference game and going 1-0 every week, the conference is our goal. We know the next couple weeks are going to be tough, so we just have to bring the energy every day in practice and keep going.”
Villarreal went 5 for 8 for 125 yards through the air. Lawson caught three passes for 90 yards.
Dallas Dykstra and Brody Miller had interceptions for the Olympian defense.
“I’d say the offense was a little sloppy,” Villarreal said. “The defense held their own tonight, held them to zero, so it was nice to see that. But we have to fix stuff on offense, and we’ll get better.”
Jennings quarterback Brady Franks completed 6 of 10 passes for 20 yards and carried 17 times for 23 yards to lead the Panther offense.
“We knew tonight Columbus East is a storied, successful program, and we wanted to challenge the best we could,” Jennings coach Jason Burton said. “Tonight was all about our program batting adversity, with so many guys out and so many guys playing positions they may not have played. We had adversity before the opening kickoff. But I was really pleased with our kids coming out and fighting tonight. Holding them to three on that first drive was huge. We gave them seven on that punt snap. There are some things we can clean up, but I was very pleased with the fight.”
Columbus East 37, Jennings County 0
Columbus East;3;27;7;0;—;43
Jennnings County;0;0;0;0;—;0
CE—Aarav Nihalani 27 FG, 3:22.
CE—JD Rotert 1 run (Nihalani kick), 11:30.
CE—Rotert 6 run (Nihalani kick), 7:38.
CE—Rotert 7 run (pass failed), 4:05.
CE—Keaton Lawson 36 pass from Kyson Villarreal (Nihalani kick), :39.
CE—Villarreal 5 run (Nihalani kick), 10:40.
Individual statistics
RUSHING — Columbus East: Rotert 7-67, Asher Scott 6-26, Villarreal 2-25, Kameron Combest 2-3, Cadyn Goodlow 1-2. Jennings County: Brady Franks 17-23, Carsyn Lawson 6-21, Brandan McCory 4-9, Khycen Sutton 2-1, Jace Cole 4-(-3), Cam Patterson 3-(-4), Keegan Wheeler 1-(-15), Sam Hernandez 1-(-21).
PASSING — Columbus East: Villarreal 5 for 8, 125 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions; Combest 1-3-7-0-0. Jennings County: Franks 6-10-20-0-2.
RECEIVING — Columbus East: Lawson 3-90, Kamden Shelley 1-26, Mykel Jones 1-9, Carson Gallion 1-7. Jennings County: Kyle Byram 2-12, Wheeler 2-7, McCory 1-1, Hernandez 1-0.
