Columbus East High School

Columbus East closed out Senior Night with a gut-check victory, edging Bedford North Lawrence 20-17 Friday at John Stafford Field at Bob Gaddis Stadium. The win locked up second place in the Hoosier Hills Conference and was built on timely defense, a ground-heavy attack and a few momentum swings that the Olympians managed to control. East didn’t make it easy on themselves. A blocked punt early in the second quarter was scooped and returned for a Stars touchdown, and special teams miscues threatened to swing the night away. But East answered in the trenches and on the scoreboard when it mattered — short-yardage power runs and a procession of defensive turnovers flipped the script. Quarterback Kyson Villarreal did the dirty work between the tackles, punching in two goal-line keeps to key the win. JD Rotert led the ground game, piling up tough yards all night (26 carries for 120 yards) and helping East sustain drives and chew clock. When the offense stalled, the defense stepped up: multiple interceptions and pressure on Bedford’s quarterback stifled the Stars’ high-powered looks and produced crucial change-of-possession opportunities. A late interception in the fourth quarter ended Bedford’s final chance and preserved the three-point margin. The scoring snapshot: Bedford opened with a 24-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. A blocked Columbus East punt was returned for a BNL touchdown, putting the visitors up 10-7. East responded before halftime with a short-yardage touchdown drive to retake the lead at 14-10. Early in the second half Villarreal powered into the end zone again to make it 20-10 (a two-point attempt failed). Bedford closed to 20-17 with a touchdown midway through the fourth, but could not complete the comeback. Key stats Final: Columbus East 20, Bedford North Lawrence 17 Records: East (5-4 overall, 5-1 HHC), Bedford NL (6-3, 3-2). Rushing — East: JD Rotert 26-120; Villarreal 13-46. Passing — East: Villarreal 7-for-16, 122 yards. Catching - Dallas Dykstra 2-60, Paxton Thompson 2-41, Bige Asher 2-18, Miller 1-3 Notable defensive impact: Multiple interceptions and several stalled Stars drives. Offensive formation: The Olympians switched to a double tight end formation and tightened down on their lineman splits...the run game in the 2nd half seemed to prosper with this change and the reduced lineman splits reduced the amount of penetration from the Stars defensive front--who at times, had 8-9 guys within 5-6 yards of the line of scrimmage. Fourteen seniors were honored before kickoff, and they got the kind of finish you want on Senior Night — a hard-fought win that shows this team can grind through adversity. East now gets a week off before heading to the sectional semifinals on Oct. 31 to face the winner of Seymour vs. Whiteland. A hard-fought victory — messy at times, sure, but exactly the kind of resilient performance that extends seasons and builds momentum heading into the postseason. The Olympians controlled the tempo throughout the game and stayed within the game plan, executing when it mattered most! The Olympians tonight found a way to win the close one; that will matter a lot come postseason time.