For the fifth consecutive year, Columbia took care of business against rival East Marion Friday night at home with a 49-20 victory.
While Columbia freshman running back Omarie Johnson’s 283-yard, 4-touchdown performance in just his second start was the headline of the game, it was Columbia’s play in the trenches on both sides of the ball that allowed the Wildcats to dominate the action. Columbia’s six sacks combined for 49 yards lost for the Eagles, and the offensive line paved the way for 447 rushing yards, seven touchdowns and a 14.9 yard average on the ground.
“Our offensive line, I thought, from day one had a chance to be a really good group,” head coach Chip Bilderback said. “They’ve been physical, and we’ve tried to impose our will. We still have to clean some things up and get ready for the task we have at hand. But for where we are early in this journey, I am happy with where we are. I can’t say enough about the leadership within that group. Josh Riley and Reagan Davis have really stepped up and led that group. I’m really proud of our backs hitting the holes as well, too.”
East head coach Kevin Jackson said losing the battle up front is an easy recipe for a lopsided loss.
“Hey, they have a good football team, and they dominate the line of scrimmage. When you dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, that’s what happens,” he said.
Columbia (2-0) will remain at home Friday night for its homecoming game against North Forrest (0-3), while East Marion (1-1) will play host to West Marion (2-0). Kickoff for both games is at 7.
From the onset the Wildcats had their foot on the gas with big play after big play. Dylan Henry came a shoestring tackle away from streaking for a touchdown on the opening kickoff, and Columbia needed just two offensive plays to find the end zone. The Wildcats dialed up a speed option that put Johnson on the edge with a big runway in front of him. He powered through a couple of arm tackles on his way to his second career touchdown from 41 yards out to put the Wildcats up 7-0 less than a minute into the game. Offensive coordinator Craig Cluff made the creative early play call that caught the Eagles off guard and set the tone for the duration of the game.
“They surprised us early on and ran some option. We hadn’t really seen that, and it got that early score against us,” Jackson said.
Devin Daniels connected with Jacob Johnson for an 18-yard gain over the middle on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage, but Columbia outside linebacker Kevon Cloyd later halted the drive with a sack to force a punt. Columbia wasted no time capitalizing on strong field position with De’Torres Lewis racing for a 35-yard touchdown four plays into its ensuing possession. Lewis took a jet sweep left and received excellent perimeter blocking that sprung him to the second level untouched, giving the Wildcats a 14-0 lead five minutes into the game.
Both teams then traded punts before the Eagles finally started to build some momentum with a 12-play drive. However, it would be for naught as the drive stalled in the red zone with Columbia defensive lineman Ryan Luter notching a key sack on third down and Daniels firing incomplete on a shot to the end zone on fourth down.
Then Ralpheal Luter faked a jet sweep handoff on the Wildcats’ first play of the ensuing drive, lowered his shoulder to break free of a pair of defenders and raced down the side line for a 69-yard gain. Johnson took a handoff over left guard on the next play and cruised into the end zone from eight yards out to make it 21-0 with 7:22 remaining in the first half.
Bilderback then made a pre-play adjustment prior to East Marion’s first play of the drive that paid off. He told Lewis, who was lined up as the outside corner, to shade two extra steps inside of the receiver. That put him in great position to make a highlight-worthy, leaping interception.
While it seemed the Wildcats were poised to put the proverbial nail in the coffin just 17 minutes into the game, the loss of quarterback Ralpheal Luter, who is expected to be a game-time decision this week, proved otherwise. He was taken out of the game with an apparent right shoulder injury, forcing Javen Moses into action. Moses scrambled on the second play of the drive, was hit from behind and lost the football, which East Marion’s Wanya Cook recovered.
The Eagles made quick work of the change in momentum as Flenard McLin outran both the cornerback and free safety on a skinny post, and Daniels launched a perfect pass to hit McLin in stride for a 48-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good, but East Marion breathed its first air of life as it cut the deficit to 21-6.
It didn’t take long, though, for Columbia to seize the momentum once again. Johnson received great blocking from the big guys up front and made reservations for six with a 56-yard scamper to pay dirt. Then safety Jamison Kelly picked off an overthrown pass over the middle by Daniels and returned it 30 yards to set the Wildcats up at the Eagles’ 20. Four plays later, Cloyd walked into the end zone from three yards out to make it 35-6 heading into the locker rooms for halftime.
Coming out of the break, East Marion punted twice and Cloyd lost a fumble, but Columbia’s offensive line imposed its will once again on its second drive of the half. Johnson took a handoff toward the left boundary, put his foot in the ground, accelerated through a huge hole and was off to the races for a 92-yard touchdown. Johnson showcased track-star speed on the long run for his fourth touchdown of the night and has alleviated any concerns the Wildcats’ coaching staff may have had of former starter Kentrel Bullock being away from the team.
Two incompletions and a sack by Columbia defensive end Landon Sanders set up the Wildcats’ seventh trip to the end zone. Johnson broke off another long run — this time for 48 yards — to give Columbia 1st-and-goal at the 2. Ryan Luter, who had two of the Wildcats’ six sacks, then plowed his way through the Eagles’ defense for the score in Columbia’s goal line package to make it a 49-6 ball game with 1:01 remaining in the third quarter.
East Marion was able to make it a more respectable margin with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. JaQuarious Jones ran for a 2-yard score, and Daniels connected with McLin on an 11-yard fade in the back of the end zone with 22 seconds left in the game. Jackson said it was a small consolation for the Eagles to continue fighting until the very end.
“Of course, this is a big rivalry game, and you would think we would fight to the end and we did,” he said. “Hats off to (Columbia), though. They had a good game plan and got after it.”
Coaching his first rivalry game as Columbia’s head coach, Bilderback said the attention to detail in the week leading up to the game made a big difference.
“It’s a great game for our community. I know this: East Marion is a great program. Kevin Jackson is a great coach, and they have some great players. Tonight, the ball bounced our way,” he said following the game. “That’s not to say they aren’t going to win a lot of game because I think they will.
I think our kids played really hard, and this game is really important to us. But it really goes back to our preparation. We had a great week of preparation, and it was the best week we’ve had since I’ve been at this school.”
Bilderback added that while the Wildcats’ defense has played great the first two weeks of the season, it still can get a lot better.
“The defense is playing really, really hard right now. We’re misaligning and screwing some things up, but when you’re early into a scheme — we’re only about four weeks into a new scheme — you’re going to have breakdowns. What you can’t have is have your defensive unit not running hard and being physical,” he said. “As long as we’re physical on the defensive side of the ball, we can overcome the misalignments and missed tackles. I think that’s where we have our most room for growth. Coach (Bo) Russum does a great job with our defense, and we’re excited about where we’re going.”
Pictured Above: Columbia freshman running back Omarie Johnson hits the hole Friday night against East Marion. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
