Columbia struggled mightily in its homecoming game against Lawrence County with 12 penalties and four turnovers, but the Wildcats still managed to hang on for a 20-13 victory Friday night.
Lawrence County came out the gates with an early haymaker to go up 13-0 after the first quarter, but the Wildcats rallied back with 20 unanswered points to seal the deal.
Head coach Chip Bilderback said that Lawrence County had a great defensive game plan that limited the usually dominant Columbia rushing attack to just 88 yards on 28 attempts (3.1 yards per carry) and that it was a great game for the Wildcats to learn from after winning their first four games by an average of 39 points per game.
“I feel like it was a game we needed at the time. You got homecoming week, you got a thousand distractions, you got things that take your focus off what’s really, really important. I think it was a great wake up call to everyone in our program,” he said. “We’re happy we won. I think that showed the maturity level of our team and that we’re a team that’s not going to panic and will keep fighting.”
With the running game struggling, Columbia needed its passing attack to step up for the first time this year, and it rose to the challenge. Javen Moses and Josh Brown combined to complete 8-of-11 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown.
“We completed some passes, and we did what we’ve been working on. It was just important that we came back out and kept fighting, kept swinging,” Bilderback said.
The top-ranked Wildcats (5-0) have a bye this week before beginning their district schedule Oct. 4 at Tylertown. Although there isn’t a game Friday night to prepare for, Bilderback said the bye week is by no means an off week.
“It may sound crazy, but we have to win this week in our preparation, work and conditioning,” he said.
The Cougars dented the scoreboard first Friday night midway through the opening quarter after a Kentrel Bullock fumble as Lawrence County quarterback Haden Mullins connected with Brian Bogan for a 36-yard touchdown. It was off a play-action fake that sucked the entire Wildcats defense in.
Then after a Columbia punt gave the Cougars the ball inside Wildcats territory, Lawrence County’s Kylan Cooper scored on a 4-yard sweep to put the Cougars up 13-0 going into the second quarter.
Columbia’s Omarie Johnson was off to the races on the ensuing kickoff down the sideline with nobody left to beat, but the ball slipped out of his arms and Lawrence County pounced on it. The Wildcats defense forced a three-and-out, though, and set up Columbia’s first score of the night.
On the second play of the drive, Moses hit a streaking Tryson Johnson in stride for a 75-yard touchdown. Johnson ran a seam route from the slot and sprinted past Lawrence County’s Jamarcus Garner with ease. Bullock then banged in the 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to 13-8 with 9:16 remaining in the second quarter.
Moses hit Johnson again on the next drive, this time for 47 yards, on a well-designed play. Columbia faked a wide receiver screen to Daqwan Jones with Johnson running toward the outside cornerback like he was going to block him before turning up field for a wheel route. That set up a Bullock 3-yard touchdown to put CHS up 14-13 going into halftime.
“(Moses and Johnson) were ready when their number was called, and that’s all you can ask for,” Bilderback said. “They’ve worked hard just like everyone else in our program and were ready when their number was called. Everyone thinks they just saw (Johnson) catch a pass and (Moses) throw a pass, but they work their butts off every day. I’m proud of both of them.”
Columbia forced another Cougars three-and-out on the opening possession of the second half, and the Wildcats finally gained some traction on the ground. Bullock ripped off a gain of 22 yards on the first play, Brown had two carries for 16 yards on the six-play drive and Bullock added to the lead with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone.
Midway through the fourth quarter, AJ Walker made a big stop for the Wildcats on a 4th-and-3, and Columbia needed another fourth-down stop following a fumble by Daqwan Jones. Lawrence County had converted a 4th-and-4 on a play-action pass that got the Cougars to the Columbia 11-yard line, but a big tackle for loss by Greg Fortenberry set up a 4th-and-21 that fell incomplete and sealed the game.
While the Wildcats were burned by a few play-action passes in the secondary, Columbia’s front seven dominated the final three quarters. Fortenberry, Jordan Aaron and Jeremiah Haynes all made several plays in the Lawrence County backfield, and Jonathan Wiltz played like a superstar in the making, screaming off the edge from his outside linebacker position. Omarie Johnson also made a number of hard hits coming downhill, and Sadarion Magee had a big hit along the sideline in the third quarter.
Bilderback said he was encouraged by the way the Wildcats rallied and continued to fight through adversity despite the sloppy effort and that the goal is for Columbia to play its best football in October during Region 8-3A play, not September. He added the Wildcats can learn a lot from the game that will get them to where they want to go.
Pictured Above: Jeremiah Haynes and Jonathan Wiltz combine to make a tackle. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
