Columbus East High School

The Columbus East football team protected home turf Friday night at John Stafford Field inside Bob Gaddis Stadium, earning a 49-28 victory over Hoosier Hills Conference foe New Albany. With the win, the Olympians remain perfect in league play at 3-0. East struck quickly, finding the end zone on its first two drives. Quarterback Kyson Villarreal opened the scoring with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Keaton Lawson, then added a 4-yard rushing score of his own for a 14-0 lead. After New Albany responded with a long touchdown run, Villarreal connected with Kamden Shelley on an 11-yard strike to keep the Olympians in front. The Bulldogs fought back and trimmed the margin to 21-14 at halftime, but the second half belonged to East. JD Rotert capped a drive with a short touchdown run after a 48-yard pass from Villarreal to Mykel Jones set up the score. Lawson later broke free on a screen pass and sprinted 67 yards to the end zone, stretching the advantage. Big plays continued for the Olympians as Brody Miller burst through the middle for a 65-yard touchdown run, and Rotert added his second score of the night in the fourth quarter to seal the win. East piled up 444 yards of total offense. Villarreal completed 10 of 15 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 71 yards. Lawson turned three receptions into 122 yards and two scores, while Jones added four catches for 81 yards. On the ground, Rotert carried 14 times for 67 yards and two touchdowns, and Miller made the most of his opportunities with 64 yards and a score on just two carries. With the victory, the Olympians improve to 3-2 overall and keep their conference record unblemished heading into next week’s key matchup with fellow unbeaten Floyd Central.