Columbus North’s Gino Prescott runs the ball against Decatur Central at Columbus North, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023.
The Republic file photo
After taking on each other in last week’s rivalry clash, Columbus North and Columbus East have turned their attention toward their respective conference seasons.
Both teams open conference play tonight. The Bull Dogs host Southport in their Conference Indiana opener, while the Olympians travel to Seymour to begin their Hoosier Hills Conference schedule.
“Obviously, (East is) a big game on our schedule,” North coach Logan Haston said. “This is our first conference game, and we take our conference games really seriously. One of our team goals is to win conference, so this is the first step in that direction.”
The Bull Dogs rolled to a 41-0 victory at East last week.
“We feel great,” Haston said. “We were able to take care of business in all three phases of the game. Whenever you get a touchdown on defense and special teams, it’s a great night. So we feel like we played a complete game.”
North (1-1) will be taking on an 0-2 Southport team. The Cardinals have fallen to Roncalli 43-20 and Perry Meridian 20-10.
Southport has lost 24 consecutive games dating back to the 2020 season.
“Our biggest focus this week has been to focus on us and not worry about who they are or their record or anything like that,” Haston said. “We have to respect everyone on our schedule.”
The Cardinals’ Bryce Calvert has completed 11 of 21 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Jeremiah Stanovic has carried 31 times for 201 yards and two scores. Uriah Stearman has four catches for 101 yards and a touchdown, and Nilyn Compton has 11 receptions for 83 yards and a score.
“Defensively, they have some talent for sure,” Haston said. “I think their linebacker corps is really impressive. They are aggressive downhill guys that aren’t afraid to come down and hit. They like to commit to stopping the run, so we’ll have our hands full there. We know we’ll have to meet that challenge and be ready to take what the defense is giving us.
“Then on the offensive side of the ball, they have some weapons on the outside that they can get the ball to. So it will be a good challenge for us.”
North’s Asher Ratliff has completed 19 of 40 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. Gino Prescott has carried 14 times for 210 yards and two scores, and Braylon Thomas has eight catches for 124 yards and a touchdown.
Prescott carried 11 times for 131 yards and two scores last week in his first varsity start in place of Sam Mormino, who sat out with an injury. Mormino will be back in action tonight.
“It will be nice to have Sam back,” Haston said. “He was good to go last week, but we just felt like we wanted to give him one more week of rest to get healthy as we get into our conference schedule. Him and Gino will be a good complement.”
Columbus East’s Thomas Houpey runs the ball against Columbus North at Columbus East, Friday, Aug. 25, 2023.
The Republic file photo
East (0-2), meanwhile, will try to bounce back from last week’s defeat.
“We’ve had a good week so far,” East coach Eddie Vogel said. “In football, there’s a limited number of opportunities. You have to put last week behind you and prepare for a new opponent. We have to get ready to go down and play a good Seymour team.”
The Owls (1-1) have lit up the scoreboard in their two games. They fell to Greenwood 51-49 and beat Jeffersonville 42-7.
Seymour’s Bret Perry completed 25 of 33 passes for 470 yards and five touchdowns, and Jaylan Johnson had eight receptions for 248 yards and two scores in the opening loss to Greenwood.
“They have a good offense,” Vogel said. “They have a talented group of skill guys and linemen and a really good quarterback. We’re going to have to score some points to be able to stay with them.”
The Olympians have featured a balanced offense, with four backs having gained between 26 and 53 yards and three receivers with between seven and nine catches and 73 and 76 yards. They’ve used a two-quarterback system, with Kyson Villareal completing 16 of 29 passes for 180 yards, and Zach Foster completing 13 of 20 passes for 91 yards.
Villarreal has seen about two-thirds of the action in each of the first two games and has become the starter, but Vogel said both quarterbacks will play again this week.
“He’s taken a step in that direction for sure,” Vogel said. “Both guys are still competing, but he’ll be the starter again on Friday. I would say that both guys are going to play some.”
East will look to finish off its drives better than it has the first two weeks.
“Against Bloomington South, I thought we moved the football pretty well, and against North at times, we moved the ball,” Vogel said. “A lot of it is finishing in the red zone. The reality is, we’ve turned it over a bunch the first two weeks, and those are big momentum swings. Those kind of turnovers and breakdowns, you’re not going to beat good football teams doing that.”
