Columbus East High School

The Columbus East Olympians showed their resilience and improvement in a late-season non-conference game on Homecoming Night at Stafford Field against 5A #4 Bloomington North. After starting the season 0-2, many anticipated a challenging year for the Olympians. However, they responded with four consecutive wins, including a pivotal victory over Hoosier Hills Conference leader Floyd Central, positioning themselves at the top of the conference. The game against Bloomington North was a true test of how far the Olympians had come. In what many expected to be a reality check for the O's, Columbus East proved they could compete with one of the state’s best, keeping the game close in a 28-20 loss. The Olympians matched the Cougars' intensity from the start. After Bloomington North scored first, Columbus East answered with a 7-yard touchdown run by Thomas Houpey, tying the game at 7-7, which held through halftime. In the second half, Bloomington North built a 21-7 lead, but the Olympians fought back. Kyson Villarreal connected with Jared Brooks on a mid-fourth-quarter touchdown pass to make it 21-14. Although the Cougars responded with another passing touchdown, extending their lead to 28-14, Columbus East answered again with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Villarreal to Keaton Lawson. A missed extra point left the score at 28-20. The Olympians kicked off to the Cougars with a little over 4 minutes left in the game, but couldn't come up with a timely stop (a theme for the night), the O's exhausted their allotment of timeouts, and Bloomington North was able to run out the clock and secure the win. Key moments defined the game. The Olympians had chances to add points in the first half but couldn’t convert inside the Cougars’ 10-yard line with a huge turnover. Defensively, they struggled to get Bloomington North off the field, allowing Bloomington North to convert 13 of 19 third-down attempts and all three of their fourth-down attempts, including a perfectly executed fake punt for a big gain. Though they came up short, the Olympians proved they’re playing their best football of the season. With two more Hoosier Hills Conference games left, Columbus East remains focused on their pre-season team goals: winning the Hoosier Hills Conference title. They will host a much improved Jeffersonville Red Devils football team on Senior Night (10/11) and finish the regular season on the road against an always tough opponent, the Bedford North-Lawrence Stars. It was also Homecoming for the Olympians with Olympian football player Cam Herron, named 2024 Homecoming King, along Columbus East cheerleader Skyler Ross named 2024 Homecoming Queen. Stats: Rushing: Kyson Villarreal 13-79, Thomas Houpey 13-74 Passing: Kyson Villarreal 9-16, 155 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT Receiving: Jared Brooks 5-74, Cam Herron 2-62, Keaton Lawson 1-16, Kamden Shelley 1-3