Nov 10

Reitz at Columbus East for the Regional Championship: It’s #ReitzFootballFriday presented by Tracy Zeller Jewelry!

#RFFThe Mighty Panthers will travel to Columbus this Friday night to take on the Columbus East Olympians for the Class 4A Regional Championship.

Columbus East is on quite a role. As the No. 1 team in Class 4A, they have won 27 consecutive games, including last year’s state championship. Their last loss came against Indianapolis Cathedral on Nov. 16, 2012.

But the Olympians are not gods. They can be defeated. They have averaged an amazing 56.9 points per game, but East Central last Friday held them to only 28. If anyone can get the Panthers ready, it’ll be Coach Hape and his awesome staff.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. eastern/ 7 p.m. central.

All-time series
The series is tied, 1-1. Columbus East won the last meeting, 35-21, in 2012, while Reitz won the infamous 61-60 shootout in 2007. Both games were at Reitz Bowl, while this will be in Columbus.

For historical perspective, Reitz is 3-2 against teams from Columbus. The Panthers are 2-0 against the old Columbus High and 0-1 against Columbus North (North & East opened in 1972).

Columbus East is 2-1 against Evansville schools (the Olympians also beat Central, 49-0, in 2011).

The coaches
It will be student vs. teacher, as Andy Hape, 19-5 overall, will be across the field from his former coach, Bob Gaddis, who holds a 265-129 overall record (Hape played for Gaddis from 1991-93). Hape will go up against Columbus East for the first time, while Gaddis is 1-1 against the Panthers.

Semi-State
The winner will face the winner of the New Palestine vs. Roncalli game for the semi-state championship. Here are the potential match-ups and locations:

  • Columbus East at Roncalli
  • Roncalli at Reitz
  • Columbus East at New Palestine
  • Reitz at New Palestine

2014 Schedule/Results

Game previews

Statistics (on MaxPreps)

Radio/TV/Internet

Thanks again to our friends at Tracy Zeller Jewelry for sponsoring #ReitzFootballFriday!

ReitzFootball.com

Dan Engler's love for Reitz Football goes back a long time. Engler played for the Panthers all four years of high school and graduated in 1996.
That summer, as the popularity of the Internet began to explode, Engler's search for Reitz Football information came up empty, so his father suggested he create a website. Engler taught himself HTML and launched the Unofficial Reitz High School Football Home Page that August.
Since then, Engler, through ReitzFootball.com, has spent the past 25 years chronicling the rich history and tradition of Reitz High School Football.
Engler and his wife, Melissa, have two sons, Logan and Micah, and a daughter, Juliette. Engler has traveled all over the world but is proud to call Evansville his home.

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