It’s time to buckle up because Columbia has a slobber knocker of a matchup Friday night in Bassfield. The Wildcats will make the short trip to take on Jeff Davis County in what is sure to be a hard-hitting game.
Columbia (3-1) goes on the road as the presumptive favorite against the Jaguars (0-3), but head coach Chip Bilderback knows it would be a mistake to take JDC’s record at face value.
“It’s the game we need at the time. It’s going to be a battle. They have played a really tough schedule. They lost to Picayune by not that much, lost to a tough Mendenhall team and lost to a really good D’Iberville team. They’ve lost to three teams that are really, really good. Their finally getting their first home game, so I think they’ll be ready to play.”
One of the primary reasons Bilderback views it as the game they “need” is JDC runs the Wing T, which is an offense Columbia will need to be able to defend to navigate through Class 4A this year.
“There’s some battles that we have ahead against some teams that play some really good Wing T offense, so it’s important for us to play this game right now going into district to get us ready,” he said. “We’ve played them a lot the last couple of years, and it’s kind of started a rivalry there. I think we’re going to get their kids’ best, and we’re working to make sure they get our best.”
Bilderback said the Jaguars defense is loaded once again, and JDC loads the box with a 5-2 front while playing man coverage on the outside. He added Jeff Davis’ team speed, from the offensive line to the defensive line to the skill positions may be the best Columbia has seen this year.
“We’re going to be in for a tough battle, no question about it,” he said.
In big games, like this one, it’s required to make big plays on third down and in the fourth quarter, which is usually where the passing game comes into play for the Wildcats. The good thing for Columbia is senior quarterback Carter Smith is coming into his own, especially in the last two games against Petal and West Marion. After having career highs for completions (15) and yards (199) against Petal, Smith completed all seven of his passes against the Trojans.
“He’s done a great job, our receivers have done a great job and we’ve done a great job protecting. To throw the ball, it takes a lot of people to execute. We feel we can throw the ball whenever we need to and whenever we want to,” Bilderback said. “We will throw the ball Friday night. That’s what JDC is going to make you do to beat them, and they have some exceptional players.”
The matchup between Columbia and JDC last season was forfeited by the Jaguars because of quarantine, while the previous two seasons the Wildcats beat Jeff Davis in the regular season but lost to JDC in back-to-back years in the playoffs.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
