Columbus East fans might have been a little worried after the first quarter of tonight’s matchup against Columbus North. After being down by 10, the Olympians knew that they had to adjust to a strong Bulldog offense.

“We dodged a lot of bullets in the first half, but at halftime we told [the team] that this is the kind of game we thought it was going to be,” East head coach Bob Gaddis said. “Our guys played with a lot of heart tonight”.

This change was effective, as East made up ground quickly in the second quarter. The momentum continued into the second half with big plays on both sides of the ball. The victory was capped-off by senior Sam Dwenger’s game-winning touchdown run as East defeated North 28-21 on Friday night at Stafford Field.

Senior running back Steven O’Neal’s 63-yard touchdown run reflected the team’s energy in its fourth straight victory against North.

This run came during one of the first plays of the fourth quarter. Due to this play and others in the game, including the first Olympian touchdown of the night after senior Quade Greiwe’s punt block, O’Neal was voted as the most valuable player by Great American Rivalry Series, which attended tonight’s game in celebration of the East/North rivalry.

“I played well, but it wasn’t for me,” O’Neal said. “It was for my team. We did what we needed to do, and we came together as a team.”

East’s other touchdown came from sophomore quarterback Josh Major, who scored to give East its first lead of the night on a quarterback keeper. Major was starting in place of injured senior quarterback K.J. McCarter.

East, which improved to 2-0, plays Seymour next Friday to open up Hoosier Hills Conference play.