Columbus North’s Cohen Long (11) looks for running room after making a catch against Terre Haute South Oct. 17 at Columbus North.
Nicholas Shaw | For the Republic
Both Columbus North and Columbus East will have their hands full Friday night.
The Bull Dogs and the Olympians will be the underdogs going into their football sectional semifinal matchups. North will travel to Franklin Central, while East travels to Whiteland. Both games will have a 7 p.m. kickoff.
The postseason hasn’t been kind to the Columbus schools. Both teams are on a long sectional drought. East hasn’t won a sectional game since 2020 and a sectional title since 2018. North has won two sectional games since 2018, both against Jeffersonville in 2022 and 2023 and haven’t won a sectional since 2007.
The Flashes have the same record as North at 4-5, but Franklin Central plays in arguably the toughest conference in the state in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. According to the Jeff Sagarin Rating, the Flashes had seventh toughest schedule in the state and are a nine-point favorite against the Bull Dogs, who are ranked 21st in strength of schedule.
“I think it’s an exciting matchup,” North coach Logan Haston said. “We have a ton of respect for them. They play in one of the best conferences in the Midwest, and they’ve seen elite competition week-in-and-week-out. But we feel like we have a good game plan. It’s a game where the two teams are pretty evenly matched on paper, so scheme is going to play a big part in that. We feel confident with the game plan right now.”
Columbus East’s JD Rotert breaks free for a huge gain against Bedford North Lawrence Oct. 17 at Columbus East.
Nicholas Shaw | For the Republic
The Olympians (5-4) are facing a familiar opponent because they faced the Warriors in the preseason scrimmage. East players and coaches know it will not be the same Whiteland team they saw in the preseason.
The Warriors got off to a slow start to begin the year at 1-2 after losing to 6A schools Columbus North and Decatur Central. Since the loss to the Hawks, Whiteland has won seven straight games, winning the past two games by a running clock in arguably the third-best conference in the state in the Mid-State Conference. The Sagarin Rating has the Olympians as a 23-point underdog against the Warriors, who are 52nd in strength of schedule, compared to 99th for East.
East coach Eddie Vogel said Whiteland thrives off turnovers with several blocked punts and fumble recoveries the past several weeks. He said everyone on the team will have to stay focused Friday.
“For us, it’s going to be taking care of the football and making sure our special teams are on point. We’re going to have to be able to move the chains and finish drives, which we haven’t done throughout the season every time, but we played better the last couple of weeks,” Vogel said. “Then defensively, understanding they’re about as good an offense and as unique an offense that is tough to prepare for. They’ve got some really good skill players. We have to limit those big plays and get them into some third down situation to force to throw where we can shrink the playbook and try to get them off the field. I think that’s going to be the thing that will allow us to be successful.”
Vogel said a few keys in Friday’s battle with Whiteland are moving the chains, controlling the clock and winning the time of possession.
“Two weeks ago against Bedford North Lawrence, we talked to our guys about winning ugly,” Vogel said. “That’s going to be important again for us and making plays when we need to make plays, that’s going to be big.”
With all 32 Class 6A teams and 31 of the 33 teams in 5A having the bye week last week, that helps get players healthy when they put on the jersey Friday.
“We have some guys that have been bumped and bruised, and the bye week was very beneficial to get some guys healthy,” Haston said. “We’re kind of taking a few guys day-by-day, so it’s hard to say just yet, but they’re progressing in the right direction, and we’re hoping to get some guys back.”
