Eli Ostrom
Columbus East controlled the ball for much of the game and went on to post a 9-0 Hoosier Hills Conference victory against Jennings County Thursday on senior night.
Seniors Jonathan Sylva, Eli Ostrom, Eduardo Aranda Michel, Amelizon Adeus, Emilio Quintero Aguiree, Ryan Turner, Austin Giles, Cristofer De Dios and Cristian De Dios were honored prior to the game.
“It was fantastic. The emotions were really high, lots of excitement, a little bit nervous because you only have one shot, but it was a lot of excitement,” Ostrom said.
Nine different players scored. Farid Garcia Renteria scored the opening goal in the 19th minute. Josh VanValkenburg scored in the 22nd minute, Ethan Glick scored in the 26th minute, Quintero Aguirre scored in the 28th minute and Jonathan Sylva put the ball in the net in the 29th minute to give East a 5-0 halftime lead.
The goals kept coming in the second half for the Olympians (7-4-1, 4-0) against the Panthers (5-7, 0-4). Turner scored the opening goal of the second half in the 48th minute. Aranda Michel found the net in the 60th minute, Adeus scored in the 64th minute and Ostrom ended the game early with a goal in the 66th minute.
The win by East keeps it in hunt for the outright HHC title. Jeffersonville and New Albany are the only teams behind the Olympians with one loss. The Bulldogs prevailed over the Highlanders 2-1 Thursday night. The Red Devils and Bulldogs will play each other on Tuesday.
The goal will still be the same for East, which will earn at least a share of the title by defeating Floyd Central Tuesday and can win it outright defeating New Albany Sept. 27.
“We have a lot to play for here in the next 10 days or so with the game on the weekend against Batesville and then two conference game next week that will ultimately decide the conference title again this year,” East coach Sam LaVelle said. “We have our goals still in front of us and we’re eager to see how far we can take it.”
LaVelle appreciated his seniors, many of them he’s coached since the sixth grade.
“Our seniors put in four years of hard work,” LaVelle said. “We’ve asked a lot of them as we’ve transitioned coaching to me last year. They’ve been great at establishing a foundation for us and being able to build off of the first year last year going into their senior year. Everything in the offseason, they were constant professionals about it and became instant leaders.”
