Asher Ratliff, right, fakes a handoff to Gino Prescott during the first day of football practice Aug. 6 at Columbus North.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
So much for easy tuneup games to begin the football season.
When Columbus East and Columbus North open the regular-season on Friday night, they’ll be going up against Class 5A powerhouses. The Olympians open at home against Bloomington South, while the Bull Dogs visit last year’s 5A state runner-up and this year’s title favorite, Decatur Central.
“Our focus to this point has always been on us,” East coach Eddie Vogel said. “We’ll prepare this week like we have every week. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. We’re going to prepare the same.”
The Associated Press did not have a preseason poll this year, but Decatur Central is ranked No. 1 in 5A by Indiana Football Digest. The iconic magazine ranks Bloomington South No. 10 in 5A.
North nearly beat Decatur Central last season, leading 14-3 with seven minutes remaining before giving up a field goal and two touchdowns, the last with 6 seconds left to allow the Hawks to pull out an 18-14 win. The previous year, North was in position to tie the game before Decatur Central scored a late touchdown to pull away for a 26-12 victory.
“Two years in a row, it’s kind of left us a little dumbfounded how the result played out,” North coach Logan Haston said. “So we’d be lying if we said we haven’t had this one circled for awhile. It’s an important one for our program. It dictates kind of the trajectory of the season for us, so we’re excited.”
The Hawks are led by junior quarterback Bo Polston, who has started since his freshman year. The Toledo recruit completed 118 of 250 passes for 1,614 yards and 19 touchdowns and carried 117 times for 460 yards and six scores last season in the flexbone-spread attack.
“We just have to get after him,” Haston said. “I think it starts with our pass rush, being relentless with our guys up front putting some pressure on him. If you let him sit back there comfortably all night, he’s going to play really well. He’s a Division I quarterback for a reason. Making him uncomfortable early in the game I think is the key for us.”
Decatur Central also has a formidable rusher in senior N’Po Dodo, who carried 157 times for 1,194 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 15 passes for 315 yards and five scores.
The Bull Dogs know they will have to get off to a better start than they did in Friday’s scrimmage against Greenwood.
“We have to be able to start fast,” Haston said. “We didn’t start the way we wanted to (Friday), so that’s a major point of emphasis to our group.”
Members of the Columbus East football program perform a drill during the first day of football practice Aug. 6.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
The team Decatur Central beat in last year’s semistate to reach the state finals, Bloomington South, will visit East on Friday. The Panthers topped the Olympians 45-10 in last year’s opener.
Bloomington South lost several key players to graduation, including all of their starters at the skill positions. Sophomore Duncan Combs is the probable starter at quarterback, while juniors Braylon Townsend and Blake Azcui figure to carry the load in the backfield.
“They’re always solid,” Vogel said. “I’ve know coach (Gabe) Johnson for a long time, and they’re always going to be really well coached. They’re going to be physical and very fundamental. They have some good skill kids, and defensively, they fly to the football. It will be a good test to see where we are against a really good opponent.”
East had a chance to see another quality opponent when it scrimmaged at Whiteland on Friday.
“One of the goals coming out of the scrimmage is to be healthy,” Vogel said. “We’re as healthy as we were going into the scrimmage.”
