Columbus East High School

ST. LEON — Regulation was not enough to settle Wednesday night's IHSAA sectional opener, but Columbus East made sure the extra periods belonged entirely to them. Following 80 scoreless minutes, the Olympians struck twice in overtime at East Central High School to secure a 2-0 victory over defending sectional champion Whiteland. After battling through a tense defensive standoff in regulation, Columbus East seized control in the 14-minute extra session. The breakthrough came in the first half of overtime when Josh VanValkenburg found the back of the net off a corner kick from Devrenson Zephrin. The Olympians sealed the win in the second overtime half as Drew Dobbs added an insurance goal, once again set up by a play from Zephrin. While the offense capitalized late, Columbus East's backline and goalkeeper Ryder Meek delivered a standout defensive performance. Whiteland finished with a 10-8 advantage in total shots, but Meek stopped all nine shots on target to keep the Warriors off the scoreboard. With the victory, Columbus East moves on to Thursday night's second sectional semifinal against host school the East Central Trojans (11-5-1). The matchup sets up an exciting postseason rematch between the two programs, who previously played to a 1-1 draw back on August 18. Columbus East now turns its focus toward conquering the host Trojans for a spot in Saturday night's sectional final.