The final score, a 51-28 loss to Brookhaven Academy, may paint Columbia Academy’s district opener as one to forget, but there were several bright spots, primarily the return of quarterback Cole Fortenberry and running back Preston Sauls.
The duo had a great night for the Cougars (1-6, 0-1) with 253 total yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with an explosive Brookhaven offense led by one of the top quarterbacks in the state.
On the opening drive of the game, the Fortenberry brothers made life difficult for the CA defense. Immediately after quarterback Tyler Fortenberry had a long run to get Brookhaven in the red zone, he connected with Trevor Fortenberry on a 15-yard fade in the back of the end zone for a touchdown to make it 7-0.
Back-to-back solid runs by Kris Ginn had the Cougars on the move on the ensuing drive until a dropped snap derailed the drive. Making his return from a severe ankle injury, Cole Fortenberry had a snap go through his hands, which resulted in a loss of eight yards and forced CA to punt.
Columbia Academy had a golden opportunity to get a stop on Brookhaven’s next drive, but undisciplined play by the defensive line turned a potential stop into a Brookhaven touchdown. On third-and-15, the entire defensive line chased Tyler Fortenberry into the backfield while Brookhaven’s offensive line set up a screen that gained 14 yards. On fourth-and-1, the Cougars jumped offsides to extend the drive. Two plays later, the Fortenberrys connected again for a 16-yard touchdown, this time on a jet sweep that made it 13-0 with 4:13 remaining in the first quarter.
The CA offense was moving again on the ensuing drive with Preston Sauls, also making his return from an ankle injury, running for 21 yards on two carries and the Cougars gaining 15 yards on a horse collar tackle. But then a low snap, one that Cole Fortenberry had no chance of corralling, lost the Cougars seven yards again. After Sauls ran for 10 more yards on third down, he was stopped just inches shy of the first down on fourth-and-2 for a turnover on downs.
“Those snaps couldn’t have been worse timing,” CA head coach TC Chambliss said. “Those are things we have to take care of and things we have to make sure we fix. There’s just no excuse for them. Those are self-inflicted wounds that have been kind of the story all year long.”
That set up a wild 41-yard touchdown for Brookhaven. Tyler Fortenberry found Royce Stewart on a shallow crosser that Stewart nearly dropped. Rather than the ball hitting the ground when he bobbled it, Stewart pinned it against his back with one hand and ran for about five yards before he was able to pull it back in front of his body and take off for the score. The PAT made it 20-0 late in the first quarter.
After possession had changed hands a few times, Brookhaven blocked a punt that set it up in the red zone. But CA’s defense stood tall as Eli Beard made an acrobatic interception to get the ball back. Yet the takeaway would actually lead to a Brookhaven touchdown on the next play.
Jacob Reid caught a receiver screen but had the ball stripped by Tyler Fortenberry, and it was recovered in the end zone by Stewart for a touchdown. The PAT extended the Brookhaven lead to 27-0 with 9:54 remaining in the first half.
Then things went from very bad to worse for the Cougars. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Cole Fortenberry’s pass was batted at the line and intercepted to set Brookhaven up in the red zone. CA’s defense managed to get the stop, though, and force a field goal to make it 30-0.
CA finally responded on the ensuing drive with its first big play of the game offensively. On third-and-7, Cole Fortenberry found Eli Beard behind the coverage, and Beard made a pair of defenders look silly with a series of cuts and jukes on his way to a 77-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion was picked off, keeping it at 30-6 midway through the second quarter.
Brookhaven opened the second half with a 19-yard touchdown pass on a short field following a short CA punt.
Trailing 37-6, Carter Rowell gave the Cougars great field position with a 66-yard return to the Brookhaven 25. Two plays later, Sauls followed behind great blocking by the left side of CA’s line for a 16-yard touchdown to cut it to 37-12.
However, Brookhaven countered with a 13-yard touchdown run by Tyler Fortenberry to make it 44-12 with only three minutes off the clock in the third quarter. Then, after another CA punt, John Brown added to the lead with a 13-yard touchdown run of his own to make it 51-12.
Early in the fourth quarter, Ginn caught a fourth-down screen and took it 30 yards to pay dirt to make it 51-20. With a running clock and the game nearing completion, Sauls broke free for a 66-yard run, setting up a 3-yard touchdown run by Ginn on the game’s final play.
“We’re real excited about the direction our offense is heading. I felt going into it our offense was going to start hitting its stride,” Chambliss said. “We got off to a slow start but found a groove there, and it felt good to have our quarterback back and, of course, Preston back there in the backfield.”
Chambliss added he was extremely excited to get both Cole Fortenberry and Sauls back and that the Cougars are a different team with the two of them out there.
“Nobody was more excited than those kids, but I was a close second. Preston has been aching to get on that field, and Cole was like a kid in a candy store,” he said. “They’ve been itching to get back. They both had some nerves coming back and a little overexcited. There were a couple of Preston’s runs where that joker was not going to go down. You weren’t getting him down without at least four or five people.”
The Cougars will remain at home this week for their homecoming game against Centreville Academy. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
