With some inclement weather this week and homecoming at Columbus East, the Olympians faced a little bit of a challenge in practice for the first time this season.
But that didn’t stop East from rolling to another easy victory Friday night. The Class 5A No. 4 Olympians remained unbeaten in the Hoosier Hills Conference with a 49-0 win against Madison.
“I thought our preparation was good,” East coach Bob Gaddis said. “It was a tough week for preparation in that we had some bad weather during the week and had some other distractions going on, but I thought they came out and executed and played really well.”
The Olympians (6-1, 5-0) allowed only 103 total yards in posting their second shutout of the season. The Cubs drove into East territory only twice the entire game.
Meanwhile, the East offense scored the first seven times it had the ball — all six times in the first half and the first possession of the second half.
“I feel like the offense is definitely clicking,” junior quarterback Josh Major said. “The offensive line is doing a good job. Receivers are making plays. Running backs, everyone is doing a great job, and I think it’s because we had a great week of practice, and we were focused coming into the game.”
Major completed all seven of his passes for 135 yards and carried eight times for 96 yards and three touchdowns. Jamon Hogan carried 15 times for 155 yards and three scores.
Both Hogan and Major ran for three first-half touchdowns to give the Olympians a 42-0 lead at the break.
“When Jamon is doing a great job, it opens it up for me, and when the running game is working, it’s able to open up a bunch of options in the passing game,” Major said.
Hogan put East on the board with a 9-yard run barely two minutes into the game. He added a 41-yard run midway through the first quarter, and Major kept it for a 23-yard score to make it 21-0 late in the first quarter.
Major added scoring runs of 1 and 19 yards in the second quarter, and Hogan added a 1-yard run with 1:25 left in the half. The Olympians nearly scored again on the final play of the half, but Jonah Wichman was knocked out of bounds at the Madison 16 following a 54-yard interception return.
East’s starters played only one series in the second half, and that ended with an 8-yard touchdown run by Hogan. After that, Gaddis substituted liberally.
“We were pretty crisp offensively,” Gaddis said. “I thought our kids came out with a lot of intensity early the first half, and that’s what we talked about all week — to come out and play at a high level. It’s always nice to get everybody off the sideline and in the game.”
