Tonight’s matchup:
Castle at Columbus East
Game time
8 p.m.
Season’s records
Columbus East 10-2, Castle 7-4
Last week
East beat Bedford North Lawrence 51-14, Castle beat Terre Haute South 55-34
Last year’s meeting
Teams did not play.
Coaches
Bob Gaddis is 314-136 in his 40th year, including 196-36 in his 18th year at East. Doug Hurt is 98-52 in his 13th year at Castle.
Key players
East QB Cole Gilley, RB Mark McDonald, WR Dalton Back, WR Cody Horner, TE Isaac VanCuren, G Jacob Bolte, DE Julian Greenwell, LB Nash Murphy, S Jonah Wichman, K Sam Thomasson; Castle QB Cameron Justus, RB Noah Taylor, WR Chase Wilkinson, LB Nyles Sutton, LB Andrew Perry, K Brock Wandel.
What to watch for
Bob Gaddis faced Castle each year when he was the coach at Evansville Reitz, but has not in his 18 years at East. The Knights have played two quarterbacks for most of the season, using both Justus and Nathan Harpenau. Taylor is a big back who has ran for 1,360 yards and 19 touchdowns, including 344 yards and six scores in last week’s sectional final win. If the Class 5A co-No. 3 Olympians win tonight, they would jump to 6A for at least the next two years under the IHSAA’s Tournament Success Factor. East would host 5A No. 2 Decatur Central or visit Bloomington South in next week’s semistate.
Prediction
Columbus East 45, Castle 24
