Coming off their first win in nearly two calendar years, the Columbia Academy Cougars are looking to put together their first two-game winning streak since 2016 as they travel to Clinton, La., Friday to take on Silliman Institute.
The Cougars (1-0) lost to the Wildcats 40-28 last season but have a new head coach at the helm in TC Chambliss who is ready for the challenge.
“It’s going to be a tough one. Silliman is always in contention and always one of the better teams in the league. You don’t stay in school as long as (head coach TJ Davis) has without getting things right,” Chambliss said. “These are the games you want to get hyped up for. You want to play the good teams and see how you stack up. When the dust settles, you get to see where your program is at.”
It will be Silliman’s season opener, but the Wildcats did play St. Aloysius in a jamboree Friday night. They lined up in four-receiver sets out of shotgun primarily and leaned heavily on the passing game.
The key for the Cougars defense will be putting pressure on Silliman’s quarterback. In the jamboree against St. Aloysius, he showcased a strong arm and spotty accuracy overall. But his accuracy was much worse when he had to deal with pressure. His mechanics would fall apart, and he would try to throw with his front side flying open without his feet set. The result was a lot of passes ending up well behind his intended targets. If CA can control the line of scrimmage like it did against Amite School Center in the season opener, which shouldn’t be hard because Silliman’s line didn’t appear to be strong in the jamboree by any means, the Cougars should have several opportunities to get their hands on the ball and create turnovers.
For years, Silliman has also run a modified I-formation with three backs lined up directly behind the quarterback with one and sometimes two tight ends. While the Wildcats didn’t show it in the jamboree, Chambliss said he believes they could run that system in their sleep so he has game plans in place for both offenses.
On the flip side, Silliman’s strength seems to be its front seven defensively. St. Aloysius runs a similar offense to CA’s, and the Wildcats shut it down.
“Their line on defensive and their linebackers are all super aggressive,” Chambliss said. “Their outside linebacker, No. 14 (Cole Caime), is real aggressive, and he plays in the slot (offensively) for them too.”
However, the running backs Silliman faced didn’t seem to have the same type of ability as Kris Ginn, Preston Sauls and Caleb King.
Chambliss identified a few playmakers for Silliman that CA has to be prepared for with 6-foot-3 junior Weston Wales, who plays wide receiver and free safety, at the top of the list.
“He’s a real fast kid,” Chambliss said.
Based on the ASC blowout victory and the way Silliman played in the jamboree, the Cougars should have a strong chance to start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2016. Chambliss said Silliman has several players who play both ways, and he believes that will give the Cougars an advantage because they have worked hard to be the best conditioned team every time out.
The Cougars got some good injury news this week with Sauls. The junior rolled his ankle in the first half against Amite School Center and didn’t return. On the sidelines, Sauls himself was worried about how long he would be out, but Chambliss said Tuesday that Sauls has made great progress and anticipates the running back to be able to give it a go against Silliman.
“How much we play him and how much we hold him out will be a game-time thing, but I anticipate he’ll be fine,” Chambliss said. “It’s not something that’s going to be a long-term deal.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
