Columbus East’s Kyson Villarreal, left, hands the ball off to Tyler Weller, right, at Columbus East, Friday, Aug. 25, 2023.
The Republic file photo
A Columbus East football team that has taken its lumps against ranked teams the past two weeks will look to get back on the winning track Friday when it travels to winless Jeffersonville.
The Olympians fell 42-0 at Class 5A No. 1 Bloomington North on Friday after getting off to a slow start.
“I think we played hard, but we still made too many mistakes to beat a good football team,” East coach Eddie Vogel said. “At the beginning of the game, our first drive, we don’t really do anything with it, and then we have a bad snap on a punt and give them a short field. Things like that are the things that are keeping us from being successful.
“I do think our kids played hard,” he added. “I thought they kept fighting throughout the game, but you have to execute to be able to win football games, and we’ve not been able to do that at a high enough clip.”
Jeffersonville is 0-7 overall and 0-4 in the Hoosier Hills Conference. The Red Devils lost at New Albany 29-7 last week, the first time they’ve held their opponent under 40 points this season.
East sophomore Kyson Villarreal has completed 45 of 91 passes for 508 yards and three touchdowns and carried 90 times for 568 yards and four scores. Senior Tyler Weller has carried 91 times for 521 yards and seven touchdowns, and sophomore Keaton Lawson has 18 catches for 243 yards and two scores.
The Olympians (2-5, 2-2) still have a very remote chance at a share of the HHC title. They would have to win against Jeffersonville and next week against Bedford North Lawrence, and Floyd Central would have to lose to Jennings County and New Albany. If East wins its final two games, it would finish no worse than a tie for second with BNL.
But the focus at the moment is on Jeffersonville.
“Anytime you have to get on the bus and travel an hour and 20 minutes or whatever, you have to be able to get off the bus and be able to play,” Vogel said. “We’re going to continue to attack the week like we have all season and prepare the best we can for Jeffersonville. We know they have some good athletes, so we’re going to have to play well. If we don’t practice well, we’re not going to play well on Friday.”
