Columbus North’s Asher Ratliff looks downfield to pass against Terre Haute South Oct. 13 at Columbus North.
The Republic file photo
Columbus North is near its destination meeting with annual powerhouse Center Grove on Nov. 3.
To get there though, the Bull Dogs will have one stop to make along the way when they host Jeffersonville in the semifinal round of the Class 6A football sectional on Friday night. In the other semifinal game in the sectional, the Class 5A No. 2 Trojans will host Franklin Central.
Should North win, it will host Center Grove in the sectional final. However, should the Flashes pull off a major upset, Franklin Central would host the Bull Dogs in the sectional final. The Trojans are a near 18-point favorite over the Flashes.
The only common opponent North and Jeffersonville share is Columbus East. The Bull Dogs defeated the Olympians 41-0 on Aug. 25, and the Red Devils fell to East 25-7 on Oct. 6. By looking at that one opponent, North should be the overwhelming favorite.
The Jeff Sagarin rating agrees. According to the rating, the Bull Dogs are a 36-point favorite heading into their home contest with Jeffersonville.
North coach Logan Haston referenced to his team this week in practice that a ball could bounce in the Red Devils’ favor early, and they could make a big play to jump on his team early.
“When you get to the tournament, anything can happen. Weird things have happened. When you make them believe there is hope, that’s a scary thing,” Haston said. “We’ve got to jump on them early, and that’s going to be the mindset this week.”
Haston said a big thing that stands out with Jeffersonville is that they are “ultra-aggressive.” Even though the Red Devils scored an average of only 16.7 points per game and winless on the season, there are a lot of skill players on offense that could give the Bull Dogs a headache.
Haston added that they’ll have to have great execution on their defense schemes and be more disciplined to have the advantage.
“They’ve got a ton of great athletes with a lot of team speed and a lot of physicality. They play hard, and that’s something we’ve definitely got to be ready for,” Haston said. “We’ve got to be the more sound and more disciplined team, and we’ve got to be able to show that in the game, because if not, their athleticism can overtake the game.”
