After two games on the road, Columbus East is heading back home. They will square off against the Bloomington North Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Last Saturday, Columbus East got the win against Floyd Central by a conclusive 34-14. The result was nothing new for the Olympians, who have now won three contests by 20 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Kyson Villarreal, who rushed for 89 yards and three touchdowns. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in September of 2023. Another player making a difference was Thomas Houpey, who rushed for 137 yards while picking up 7.6 yards per carry.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Columbus East was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 262 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 87.7 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last three matchups they've averaged 245.7.
Meanwhile, Bloomington North had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Saturday. They took their game at home with ease, bagging a 52-7 victory over the Bulldogs. The Cougars' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Bloomington North got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Shaun Cooper out in front who rushed for 65 yards and three touchdowns. Noah Ferree was another key player, rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries.
Bloomington North's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Will Breedlove and Zachary Barrow. Breedlove is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last ten games he's played dating back to last season. Another thorn in New Albany's side was Ross Ogden, who picked up a sack, forced a fumble, and made eight total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Columbus East's victory bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Bloomington North, they pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Columbus East has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 166.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Bloomington North struggles in that department as they've been averaging 236.7. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Columbus East was taken down by Bloomington North 42-0 when the teams last played back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bloomington North's Trey Scott, who rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries. Now that Columbus East knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
