Columbus East’s Ethan Duncan, right, throws a pass under pressure from Columbus North’s Luke Revell during a rivalry football game at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Aug. 26, 2022.
The Republic file photo
Columbus North is hoping for a third consecutive Conference Indiana championship, while Columbus East is looking to start a new streak after its run of 17 consecutive Hoosier Hills Conference titles came to an end last year.
Those quests for both the Bull Dogs and Olympians begins tonight. East begins HCC play at home against Seymour, while North will play its conference opener at Southport.
The Bull Dogs (1-1) are riding an 11-game conference winning streak. Southport (0-2) has lost 14 in a row overall.
“I think the message for our team all week has been not to overlook anyone, to respect everyone,” North coach Logan Haston said. “We’re going to get their best shot. We’re defending conference champions. Everyone is going to try to knock us off.”
The Bull Dogs bounced back from a season-opening loss at Decatur Central with a 39-6 victory in last week’s rivalry game against Columbus East.
“We knew we weren’t where we wanted to be after Week 1,” Haston said. “We didn’t play well enough, we didn’t coach well enough. So we went back to the drawing board and improved in a lot of different areas.”
North’s Zac Horn is 37 of 55 passing for 400 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Blythe has carried 29 times for 190 yards and two scores. Cooper Horn has caught nine passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns, and Damon Edwards has 12 catches for 122 yards and one score.
“The biggest thing I think was the jump that we made from Week 1 to Week 2,” Haston said. “The fundamentals of blocking and tackling, the growth that we saw was great. If we can play that way, the sky is the limit for us. Hopefully, we can carry some of that confidence into Week 3.”
Southport’s AJ Reynolds has completed 16 of 27 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Josiah Ottinger has 23 carries for 156 yards and one score, and Pierce Birge has seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.
“They have some linebackers and safeties that are not afraid to come down and hit people,” Haston said. “They have some guys that can play well in space. Then offensively, their quarterback and throw the ball and run, and they have some receivers that can go up and catch the ball.”
Meanwhile, East (0-2) will face a Seymour program that shocked the Olympians last season, ending their 98-game conference winning streak. The Owls (1-1, 1-0), who have lost to Greenwood and beaten Jeffersonville, are led by quarterback Bret Perry, who replaced the Owls’ injured starter last season.
Perry threw for 278 yards and one touchdown and he ran 20 times for 101 yards and three scores last week against Jeffersonville. Jack Pennington has seven catches for 89 yards in two games.
“They have a talented team,” East coach Eddie Vogel said. “They got us last year. They had lost their quarterback, and we weren’t really sure what to expect, and their quarterback now came in and kind of led them. He’s a real athletic kid. They’re really good on offense and really solid and fundamental on defense.”
The Olympians’ Ethan Duncan has completed 7 of 30 passes for 114 yards and carried 16 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. Javeon Smith has carried 28 times for 91 yards, and Tyler Weller has 22 carries for 72 yards. Chase Zapfe has caught three passes for 47 yards.
East led Class A No. 2 Whiteland 10-7 at halftime of its opener and was within 10-6 of North last week. But the Olympians have been outscored by a combined 50-0 in the second half of the two games.
“I thought we’ve had two really good first halves where we’ve competed, but we haven’t done that for 48 minutes yet,” Vogel said. “So practice this week was designed to try to compete in practice because if you do it in practice, you’re going to do it on Friday nights. It’s really not a secret.”
