Columbus East’s Caaden Gault (9) confirms the play call during a sectional football game against Bloomington South at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Oct. 28, 2022.
The Republic file photo
After 18 consecutive winning football seasons, Columbus East has endured back-to-back 4-6 years.
The Olympians lost a plethora of seniors from last year’s squad. That will leave them with a wealth of inexperience entering the 2023 season.
“We graduated quite a few guys that played a lot of football for us,” East coach Eddie Vogel said. “So we have a lot of guys that are new to varsity football.”
Vogel got his first look at many of those new players in a game situation in Friday’s scrimmage at Martinsville.
“We started off pretty slow that first offensive set and the first couple of plays defensively, but then I thought we settled down a little bit and played pretty well the rest of the varsity sets and the JV set,” Vogel said. “Really, with the exception of the first 17 plays, I thought we competed pretty well. I thought as the scrimmage went on, we were competitive on both sides of the ball. We ran the ball pretty well. We threw the ball OK, and we played pretty good run defense.
“We had about 50 guys play 10 or more snaps, so we got a chance to see some guys under the lights,” he added. “We felt pretty good coming out of it. Once we got going, I was very encouraged with what I saw.”
One of the positions where the Olympians will be breaking in a player is at quarterback. Junior Zach Foster and sophomore Kyson Villarreal have split reps in practice and in the scrimmage.
“Both of them had some plays that they made,” Vogel said. “So that’s kind of our plan at this point now — to play both guys.”
Senior Tyler Weller saw significant action at tailback last season, carrying 89 times for 362 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Caaden Gault and junior Thomas Houpey, who saw only JV action last season after receiving limited eligibility after transferring, also could see carries.
Juniors Jaxson Siegman and Cam Herron and sophomore Keaton Lawson, none of which caught a pass last season, step in at receiver. Junior Jared Brooks, who caught 14 passes for 208 yards and two scores, returns at tight end and could split out to a receiver spot. Senior Blake Borkhardt, a starting tight end the past two years, could play some there, but will play mostly defense this season.
Three starters return on the offensive line. Junior Noah Hilderbrand is back at tackle, where he will team with junior Logan Warren, who saw some action last season. Senior Oliver Bush moves from tackle to center. Sophomore Luke Romine returns at guard and will be joined by sophomore Gabe Burton.
In East’s base 4-3 defense, Borkhardt and senior Seth Lankey will play the ends. Senior Gabe Chumley and sophomore Gavin Gourley take over at at tackle.
Gault returns at outside linebacker, where he was the team’s leading tackler last season. Senior Laird Stidham saw some action at middle linebacker and will take over that spot, while sophomores Christian Austin and Brody Miller are battling for the other outside linebacker spot.
Senior Nate Anderson returns at safety, where he will be joined by junior Jackson Watkins. Senior Gabe Vaca played some at cornerback and will team with junior Marcus Wilkinson, sophomore Blake Moss or junior Robert Young
Sophomore Skylar Bailey steps in as the kicker. Lankey returns for his third year as the punter.
“These guys are extremely coachable,” Vogel said. “Our coaching staff has been pleased with how coachable these guys are. Our goal is we want to be playing our best football at the end of the year when it really matters. We want to compete in every game and give ourselves a chance to win.”
East opens the season Friday at Bloomington South.
The Olympians, who won 96 consecutive Hoosier Hills Conference games from 2007-20, are looking to regain the HHC title after going 4-2 in the conference the past two years.
“I think we have the guys that are capable of getting back to win a conference championship, where we fell short the last couple of years,” Vogel said. “The expectation doesn’t change. Just because we have a lot of young guys doesn’t make the expectation any less. We want to be playing our best football come tournament time.”
The 2023 Columbus East football schedule
Friday;at Bloomington South;7 p.m.
Aug. 25;Columbus North;7 p.m.
Sept. 1;at Seymour;7 p.m.
Sept. 8;at Jennings County;7 p.m.
Sept. 15;New Albany;7 p.m.
Sept. 22;Floyd Central;7 p.m.
Sept. 29;at Bloomington North;7 p.m.
Oct. 6;at Jeffersonville;7 p.m.
Oct. 13;Bedford North Lawrence;7 p.m.
