Friday, the Olympian varsity football team will face the New Palestine Dragons in what has been one of the most anticipated games in the Class 5A state tournament. Many people have called this a “mini state championship,” as both teams are ranked in the top five of all 5A teams and have not been defeated.

This certainly isn’t the first time these two teams have met in a playoff setting. Columbus East defeated New Palestine in the 2013 4A semistate and went on to win the state championship. Then, New Palestine returned the favor by beating East in the final seconds of semistate in the 2014 4A state tournament. New Palestine also went on to win a state title that year. If the pattern continues, then it’s the Olympian’s turn to shine bright again.

However, this year isn’t the same situation as both teams have moved up a class into 5A instead of 4A. Typically, teams that move into higher classes are not prepared for the next level of difficulty in their new class and do not excel in their transitional year, yet both teams have proved this incorrect with undefeated records.

Neither team will be willing to take the backseat to the other this Friday night. The loss of this game means the end of the road for the team.

“They’re a really good team, but so are we. We’ve had a really good week of practice so far and the team has studied a lot of film looking for any advantage we could get on them,” senior tight end Rhett Myers said.

Preparation for the big game seems to be a major place of emphasis for not only the players, but the coaches as well.

“We start over the summer and practiced hard all season for this moment right here. We’re not going to change our process of getting ready for a team because it’s worked for us so far, so no need to change it now. Our coaches have got the film and studied it well, as well as the players,” East head coach Bob Gaddis said.

The game will require a near flawless performance from both sides of the ball. East has had a dominating offense through 11 games and look to extend that to 12.

“We’re confident we’ve had a really good season that we want to keep going. We’ve had a really good week to prepare and I can’t wait to see how the games turns out,” sophomore quarterback Josh Major said.

East has also had a great season on defense, keeping the opposing team out of the endzone. A large part of this accomplishment is due to a great experienced linebacker core for the Olympian defense.

“We’re definitely ready for this game. We’re prepared and ready we’ve seen the tape we are all ready to make stops and get another win,” senior linebacker Josiah Edwards said.

All the team needs to do is focus on what they do best- winning.

“It’s a familiar opponent for the both of us. We know them and I’m sure they know us. The main advantage we have going in is the home turf. We had to travel there the last time we played, and this time we get to play them on our own field,” Gaddis said.

This game is definitely a class of the football titans. Be sure to support your Olympians as they look for a Sectional Championship against New Palestine Friday.