Columbia came into Thursday night’s road matchup with West Marion aiming to accomplish three things: beat the Trojans for the first time since 2013, claim its first Marion County Football Championship since 2008 and remain undefeated in district.
The Wildcats (8-1, 4-0) won the trifecta by outscoring West Marion (7-3, 1-3) 22-0 in the second half en route to a convincing 28-6 victory.
“We’ve had a great season, and this kind of puts an exclamation point on it,” Columbia head coach Chip Bilderback said. “Next week we’ll play for a district championship. I’m so proud of our kids and their work ethic. It goes back to (them buying) in and their habits on a daily basis. There was nothing that was going to deny them from winning tonight’s game.”
Bilderback has said repeatedly with each win the games get bigger, and it’s true once again as the Wildcats take on Seminary next Friday night for the district championship. Seminary entered the week 3-0 in Region 8-3A and played Jeff Davis Friday night, but results were unavailable at press time. Regardless of that outcome, though, the winner between Columbia and Seminary will claim the district crown.
West Marion head coach Brad Duncan said it was about time West Marion got knocked off its perch as county champions, and the Trojans simply didn’t do enough to keep the streak alive.
“It had been a while, and this thing goes in cycles. Columbia is very good. We knew that going in. They’ve lost one game and could’ve beat (Taylorsville) if they didn’t turn the ball over. They could very easily be undefeated. They’re big; they’re strong; they’re fast. Coach Bilderback has done a heck of a job over there,” he said. “We didn’t make plays again. Our offense the last three weeks now has been nonexistent, and we didn’t make the plays when we needed to.”
While the Trojans may have dropped to 1-3 in district play, they also are playing in a very important matchup next Friday in a win-or-go-home road game against Tylertown (3-6, 0-3; as of deadline Thursday).
“It hurts tonight, and they were upset about tonight. But let’s forget about (it), try to get refocused and get ready for Tylertown,” Duncan said. “That way we can get to play some extra football.”
Columbia struck first late in the first quarter at West Marion Thursday night as Ralpheal Luter capped off a 74-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone. The Trojans bounced back, though, late in the second quarter with Noland Miller Jr., who had five catches for more than 50 yards on the drive, scoring on an 8-yard screen pass from Jeremiah Holmes. Neither team converted its extra point, and the score was knotted at 6-6 going into halftime.
“It was a battle,” Bilderback said following the game. “It was everything I’ve been told this game was going to be about. We had to fight; we had to claw. Credit to coach Duncan and West Marion; they did a great job and have a great quarterback in (Jeremiah Holmes). It was everything that was hyped up.”
Both defenses continued to dominate the third quarter until Kentrel Bullock finally broke loose. On a counter trap to the weak side, Bullock picked up a block, stuck his foot in the ground and hit the gas pedal, racing for a 58-yard touchdown. The snap on the extra point rolled to Javen Moses, but he alertly scrambled toward the sideline and found Teshonne Franklin wide open in the end zone for the conversion to give the Wildcats a 14-6 lead with 2:34 remaining in the third.
It was then that the Columbia defense ramped it up a notch. The Wildcats began to suffocate the Trojans’ screen game by consistently pressuring the quarterback, jamming receivers at the line and shedding blocks on the perimeter.
The Wildcats stuffed West Marion then got a huge play from the passing game. Luter connected with Jamison Kelly, who picked up 55 yards, and set up Luter finding paydirt from four yards out. Luter added a third rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter to lengthen the margin to 28-6.
Duncan said the Trojans’ youth led to some miscues they just weren’t able to overcome.
“We had chances early and had two turnovers in the first half — a fumble and an interception. We had a couple penalties on big plays that brought plays back that hurt,” he said. “We’ve got four seniors. A young football team is going to make those kind of mistakes a lot of times. We have to grow up.”
