As always, homecoming was a sight to behold at Columbia Academy Friday night, but the Cougars took center stage between the lines, winning their first district title since 2017. Columbia Academy dominated Bowling Green from the opening snap to the final whistle, winning 48-0.
Although it was a bit of a foregone conclusion with how big the gap has been between the Cougars (7-2, 2-0) and their district counterparts this season, Cougars head coach Joey Hawkins said it was really special to win the program’s first district title since 2017.
“It’s been a long time coming. (2017) was the last time (CA) had a winning season,” he said. “It’s been a good year.”
The district-clinching victory couldn’t have been scripted any better for the Cougars, who put up 522 yards of offense while averaging 15.8 yards per play while only surrendering around 100 yards to Bowling Green’s offense.
“I thought it was our best game by far,” Hawkins said. “We’re getting to where we can run the ball inside, and when you can run it inside, you can sure run it outside. We’re getting better each week, and it was a great team win. We pitched a shutout, so it was a great night for us.”
On the heels of a defensive stop, the Cougars and their vaunted run game put the ball in the end zone in a hurry. Running trap, the CA offensive line opened a huge hole for Maddox McDaniel, who ran through a shoestring at the second level and was off to the races for a 60-yard touchdown.
The Buckley brothers then took center stage with senior Logan Buckley forcing a punt with a third down sack and junior Trent Buckley taking a toss 58 yards then catching a 21-yard pass on consecutive plays to put the Cougars in the red zone. On the third play of the drive and the opening play of the second quarter, they used misdirection to spring Bentley Myers free for a 13-yard touchdown.
Up 13-0, the Cougars kept the pressure up. Owen Singletary won at the line of scrimmage to bring down Bowling Green’s quarterback on third down to force another punt, which led to a two-play scoring drive for CA.
Myers weaved his way through the Buccaneers defense for 38 yards, leading to Logan Buckley walking into end zone from a yard out and Cash James punching in the two-point conversion to make it 21-0 with 9:04 to play in the first half.
A Bowling Green three-and-out led to another drive dominated by Trent Buckley. The Cougars were flagged for holding on the first play of the drive to get behind the chains, Trent Buckley turned a quick screen into 20 yards to pick up the first down. The 6-foot-4 playmaker, who recently committed to Ole Miss to play baseball, then picked up 15 yards on a toss, 21 yards on a catch over the middle and scored on a sweep around the left side from nine yards out.
Bowling Green’s offense finally found some life while trying to score before the half to eat into CA’s 28-0 lead, but the Cougars forced a fumble that Singletary recovered. Hawkins said the Cougars defense played exceptionally well and was pleased with how well they tackled and covered.
CA’s two-minute drill showcased that the Cougars aren’t just a running team. After completing four consecutive passes to Trent Buckley (two), Chayse Cox and McDaniel, quarterback Noah Fortenberry dumped off a tight end screen to Logan Buckley, who followed his blocking into the end zone for an 18-yard score. With 25 seconds to play in the first half, CA’s 35-0 lead activated a running clock for the second half.
As if 35 first-half points weren’t enough, the Cougars opened the second half with a pair of explosive plays to find the end zone for a sixth consecutive drive. James took the first play of third quarter 27 yards, setting up a 54-yard touchdown by Myers on a misdirection run two plays later.
Columbia Academy added one more score in the fourth quarter as Brett Sims took a sweep around the left side 36 yards to the house that made it 48-0. Six different players combined for CA’s seven touchdowns — including Fortenberry’s touchdown pass — and Hawkins said he’s never had a team where the coaching staff can reliably give the ball to so many players.
The Cougars will remain at home for their final regular season game Thursday night as Christian Collegiate (0-9, 0-2) comes to town for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Facing a winless team, Hawkins said the focus throughout the week will be on fundamentals and continuing to play hard.
Although CA went into the Bowling Green game No. 1 in the Class 3A Power Point Ratings, the Cougars dropped to No. 3 after beating the Buccaneers through no fault of their own. The Power Point system awards significant points for strength of schedule, which allowed Tri-County (8-1) and Leake (7-2) to leapfrog CA after playing each other Friday night.
Regardless of where the Cougars end up in the Power Point Ratings, they are locked in to the top-4, which means they will receive a first-round bye in the 3A Division I playoffs and will automatically be playing in the semifinals Nov. 14. A victory in the semifinals would send them to the state championship Nov. 20 at Jackson Academy.
