Even though Forrest County AHS was 0-6 going into its matchup Friday night against Columbia, the Wildcats couldn’t afford to take the Aggies lightly because they had been in every game they had played so far. The Wildcats took heed of that message and more than took care of business, blowing out the Aggies 48-6.
The Wildcats (6-1, 2-0) took control of the contest early with six first-half touchdowns to remain unbeaten against Class 4A opponents despite 2021 being their first year back in the classification.
It was an onslaught from the get go in Brooklyn as Omar Johnson got the ball rolling with a rushing touchdown to put the Wildcats up 7-0 just a little over two minutes into regulation. Kentrell Jackson added to the lead a few minutes later with his second punt return touchdown of the year, taking it to the house from 70 yards out. Columbia went up three scores before the end of the first quarter as Carter Smith found DJ Cloyd for a 23-yard touchdown.
Late in the first quarter, the Aggies finally found some traction offensively with a scoring drive, but it would be their only one of the game. With under a minute remaining before the second quarter, Tulane commit Avery Sledge found the end zone on a 5-yard quarterback keeper to cut the deficit to 21-6.
The Wildcats wasted no time answering, scoring less than a minute in game action later when Smith connected with Josh Brown on 40-yard touchdown. Johnson, who continued his impressive touchdown streak, extended the Columbia lead to 34-6 with a 4-yard touchdown on the ground with four minutes remaining in the first half. With just over a minute to play in the second quarter, Cook found pay dirt from 23 yards out to give the Wildcats a 41-6 halftime advantage.
Then Cook did it again, taking the opening kickoff of the second half back 70 yards for his second kick return touchdown of the season and second score of the game. Luke Stogner drilled his sixth PAT of the game to make it 48-6, which proved to be final margin as Columbia rested its starters the rest of the way.
On paper, the Wildcats have another easy matchup this week as it plays host to Purvis (1-5, 0-2). The Tornadoes are surrendering 32.1 points per game and have lost five straight games. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Columbia head coach Chip Bilderback could not be reached for comment.
