Last week was an up-and-down week for the Columbus North football program. The Bull Dogs received a little good news and some very bad news.
The good news was that North’s season opener at Avon on Aug. 23 was moved to Lucas Oil Stadium. The Bull Dogs and Orioles likely will play the second of two games that night, beginning around 9 p.m.
“It’s everybody’s goal to finish the year in Lucas Oil Stadium (at the state finals),” North coach Tim Bless said. “For us to get to play there will be a tremendous opportunity for our kids to play on the big stage.”
The Bull Dogs and Avon have a one-year contract after both schools were dropped by their previous Week 1 opponents. The Orioles are coached by Bless’ brother Mark, and this will be their first time facing each other.
“We both had a need and an opening, and neither one of us much wanted to play each other, but it’s what both of us needed,” Tim Bless said.
On the downside last week, North lost perhaps its top returning athlete in junior wide receiver Preston Terrell. Terrell, who caught 46 passes for 487 yards and five touchdowns and finished 12th in the state in the high jump as a sophomore, has transferred to Brownsburg. He has football offers from Purdue, Ball State and Indiana State.
That came on the heels of the transfer of Cody Ruble, who was in line to take over as the Bull Dogs starting quarterback. Ruble is headed back to Seymour, where he originally is from.
In his place, Hunter Huser, who played defensive back and wide receiver as a junior last year, has moved to quarterback. Tim Bless compared Huser, who quarterbacked the North freshman team in 2016, to the signal-caller who led Columbus East to the Class 5A state championship in 2017.
“It will give us a Josh Major-type quarterback, an athletic, fast quarterback with play-making ability,” Tim Bless said. “We just have to focus on his throwing game.”
The Bull Dogs a pair of informal scrimmages set for this summer. They will host Lawrence North on Tuesday and will visit Whiteland on July 9.
Freshmen net top-5 finishes
Two Columbus North freshman placed in the top five in the Freshman Mile in last weekened’s New Balance Outdoor Scholastic National Track and Field Championships.
Matt Newell finished third in 4 minutes, 27.43 seconds, and Reese Kilbarger-Stumpff was fifth in 4:28.00. Marco Langon of Raritan, New Jersey, won the race in 4:23.18.
Bull Dogs in All-Star games
Alexa McKinley, who just finished her sophomore year at Columbus North, scored 12 points and added one rebound and one assist Friday to help her White Team beat the Red 81-74 in the Futures Game of the Indiana Class Basketball All-Star Classic.
Annie Anderson and Tessa Lomax, who just finished their junior years at North, played in Junior games on Saturday, but did not score.
East, North seniors to play
Columbus East’s Julian Greenwell and Columbus North’s Parker Maddox are slated to play for the South in the North-South All-Star Baseball Series this weekend at Madison High School.
The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, with nine-inning games beginning at noon and 3:45 p.m. They will conclude with a nine-inning wooden bat game at noon on Sunday.
Locals set for showcases
Two Columbus North players are slated to participate in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association/IHSAA Underclass Boys Showcase Saturday at Ben Davis.
Nick Schiavello, who just finished his junior year, and Blake Barker who just finished his sophomore year, are entered. The showcase begins at 2 p.m. and will end around 7:45 p.m.
The Underclass Girls Showcase will be July 15, also from 2 p.m. to around 7:45 p.m. at Ben Davis. Locals registered include McKinley, Columbus East freshman Koryn Griewe, Jennings County sophomore Addyson Kent and Trinity Lutheran sophomore Sydney Jaynes.
East to host volleyball camp
Columbus East volleyball coach Stacie Pagnard and her staff and players will host the Columbus East Youth Volleyball Camp from 4:30 to 6 p.m. July 8 to 11 at the school for Grades K through 8.
Cost is $50 and includes a camp t-shirt. To register, visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fLEB0q1VSzidit6CvWQYBP9Y1oR6jwHSmbCOqPpnSAQ/edit
Edinburgh to hold golf outing
The Edinburgh Basketball Golf Outing will be at 8 a.m. Aug. 3 at Timbergate Golf Course.
Cost is $240 per team or $60 per person and includes lunch and a chance for prizes. Hardwood, Special Event and Hole Sponsorships also are available.
To sign up team, call Brad Rooks at 812-374-8970 or drop off an entry form at Edinburgh High School. To be a Hole Sponsor, call boys coach Keith Witty at 317-657-7689 or girls coach Amy Macy-Schilling at 812-603-1085.
