What a whirlwind season it has been. It started in Foxworth Aug. 16 and ended 165 miles northeast from Columbia near Louisville Nov. 23.
I personally attended 16 games during that span and witnessed everything from joyous upsets and highlight-reel plays to crushing defeats and season-ending injuries. As much as I love football and enjoy dissecting the minute details and analyzing stats, writing this feels like I’m purging a chapter from my cluttered brain. It was exhausting, and now it’s time to reflect on what transpired and foreshadow what’s to come next season for the four Marion County teams so that we can tie our football coverage in a neat little bow and move on to basketball.
Columbia
I think the best place to start with Columbia is what I expected out of the Wildcats this season and how very wrong I was. Prior to the season, I had seen the difference in the energy and atmosphere around the program and was certainly optimistic. I was expecting around a three-win increase for the Wildcats and that they would be more competitive in Region 8-3A competition but still a year or two away from real contention.
So what did they do? They completely flipped the script and went from 3-7 in 2017 to 10-3 while knocking off Jeff Davis, West Marion, Tylertown and Crystal Springs in the process of reaching of the third round of the playoffs. Whoops.
First-year head coach Chip Bilderback completely changed the culture and turned Columbia into one of the elite programs of 3A in less than a year on the job. But the Wildcats will have some holes to fill with 13 seniors graduating, which includes seven full-time starters and four oft-used role players.
The Wildcats are unusually equipped to withstand the losses of players in the trenches with a seemingly endless supply of depth on both sides of the ball and have two backs — Kentrel Bullock and Omarie Johnson — who combined for 2,665 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns returning. What will be interesting to see, though, is how they replace skill guys Ralpheal Luter, De’Torres Lewis and Dylan Henry.
Luter, the team’s starting quarterback, may not have put up big-time passing numbers, but he did deliver several clutch touchdown passes and was the team’s go-to option in fourth-and-short situations. Columbia does have an experienced option waiting in the wings in Javen Moses, but he is more of a pure passer and doesn’t have the big frame of Luter. The Wildcats will definitely need to tinker with how they use the quarterback within their offense next fall.
Lewis, on the other hand, had such a unique skillset that opened up the entire playbook. He was absolutely electric in space and was a shutdown corner on defense. As much athleticism as Columbia has, playmakers like Lewis don’t grow on trees. Henry is similar as he was a return specialist and manned the other cornerback spot. Replacing them will be tough.
However, I would count on the Wildcats as the team to beat next season in 8-3A with Seminary and Jeff Davis set to lose far more to graduation than Columbia.
Columbia Academy
I’m probably as confused and conflicted as to what kind of team the Cougars are as the day I started working on the preseason football magazine.
The Cougars went from boasting a high-powered offense with intriguing defensive potential that led them to the MAIS AAA semifinals in 2017 to 3-8 with a first-round exit in the playoffs. Yet CA probably had the most improbable and exhilarating upset of the year when it knocked off Parklane Academy Sept. 7 and seemed to be on the rise. Then the Cougars lost six of their last seven games, and the drop-off offensively is still confusing.
As a sophomore in 2017, quarterback Ras Pace completed 62 percent of his passes with 30 touchdowns to just eight interceptions and even added another nine scores on the ground. This season he completed 44 percent of his passes with a 12:13 touchdown-to-interception ratio and only four touchdowns on the ground. Yes, it’s easy to point to the loss of talented pass catchers Aaron Thomas and Owen Harper, along with the departure of offensive coordinator Norman Joseph, but the Cougars still had talent and good coaching.
I don’t think any of it solely rests on the shoulders of Pace, nor should it. His numbers are a mere microcosm of a bigger issue. The Cougars simply never found a strategy or a calling card to hang their hat on offensively. They started the season with a pass-first approach and ended it with a heavy reliance on the running game, led by Drew Havard. They just never found that right balance, and Havard will no longer be there to lean on next season. Pace is a talented quarterback and a good leader and should return to his 2017 form if the Cougars can figure out who they are going forward as an offense.
Defensively, though, the Cougars defense should strike fear into opposing offenses next season. The trio of Patrick Gill (149 tackles), Cole Rowell (145) and Kris Ginn (145) is set to return at linebacker, and defensive end Jordyn Mahaffey became a star in his first season at CA. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound edge rusher had 119 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, six sacks, three forced fumbles and three blocked kicks.
I don’t know which offense we’re going to see in 2019, but the Cougars have the potential to be right back in the thick of things next season.
East Marion
The only place to begin with the Eagles is their remarkable postseason run. East Marion caught fire at the end of the season and into the playoffs, winning five of six and upsetting Noxapater 26-0 in the first round then Lumberton 26-14 — both on the road.
As explosive as their offense had become, it was the Eagles defense that fueled the charge. They allowed just 21 total points in wins over Mount Olive, Resurrection Catholic, Noxapater and Lumberton, and their front seven was especially dominant.
While East Marion’s impressive run ended in a 28-8 loss to Nanih Waiya Friday night, I don’t think the Warriors got anywhere close to seeing the Eagles’ best. East Marion particularly struggled holding onto the football in the backfield in a rain-soaked affair, putting the ball on the ground five times, but only one was a legitimate fumble. The rest were simply mishandles and resulted in drive-killing, lost-yardage plays that wouldn’t have occurred on a normal night. I don’t know if the Eagles would’ve been able to score enough to beat the Warriors under perfect conditions, but I believe it would have been much closer and decided in the second half.
Eleven Eagles are set to graduate, seven of which were starters, but East Marion will return the majority of its biggest strength — in the trenches. Ethan Hibley, Jaheim Burkett, Martez Mikell and Elijah Brown return, but Wanya Cook will be the biggest piece to replace as both East Marion’s best defensive lineman and running back. Luckily, the combination of Jaquarious Jones and Latrel Waller are more than capable of producing.
They are losing several skill guys, too, including their top three receivers — Flenard McLin, Jacob Johnson and Darrin Haines — who combined for 1,286 yards and 14 touchdowns. Considering Daniels threw for 1,770 yards and 18 touchdowns, that’s a lot to replace. Lawrence Lambert (311 yards, three touchdowns in nine games) is a natural replacement as the go-to option, but the Eagles will need Kevin Johnson, Ladarrius Watts, Deundre Ruffin and others to fill in as well.
With Daniels, Jones, Lambert, Waller, Hibley and Burkett set to lead the way, East Marion should be just as competitive next season.
West Marion
The Trojans are the proverbial sleeper of Marion County, which is a statement that seemed ludicrous to say when they were 6-0 heading into district play. After losing four of five to end the season, West Marion missed the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and will enter next season, in my eyes, as a sleeping giant waiting to be awoken.
You have to read between the lines and see all the weird things that happened to the Trojans prior to the season and in the opener to respect how impressive their 7-4 record actually was. They lost all five starting offensive lineman — two transferred less than two weeks before the season, one moved out of state during the summer and another quit — and lost arguably their two best players for the season before it ever really began.
After his breakout freshman campaign in 2017, I had Qavonte Swanigan pegged as the best pound-for-pound player in the county entering the year. Then in the third quarter of the opener against PCS Aug. 16, he tore his ACL on a punt return and was lost for the year. Stud nose guard Blaten Norris injured his back prior to the opener, returned for Week 6 before reinjuring it in the first half and was also lost for the season. Both should be back next season and will drastically improve the Trojans.
Then when you look at what West Marion is losing, and you get super excited about their prospects for 2019. The Trojans are only graduating four players. Granted, all four played massive roles, including Noland Miller Jr. and DonTavious McGowan, who combined for 93 receptions, 1,381 yards and 17 touchdowns, but with Swanigan joining O’Marion Husband and Larry Magee in the receiving corps they should be just fine.
Lastly, West Marion had a pair of defenders in sophomore Jartavious Martin (first-team All-Region 8-3A) and freshman Octavious Harvey have big breakout campaigns, and the duo will only get bigger, faster and stronger as they mature. Not to mention the Trojans bring back quarterback and linebacker Jeremiah Holmes (1,818 passing yards and 25 total touchdowns; 74 tackles) and their entire offensive line.
Don’t be surprised one bit if West Marion rises back up to challenge Columbia, Jeff Davis and Seminary next season, along with newcomer Magee in Region 8-3A.
Pictured Above: Columbia's Omarie Johnson captures the corner against Jeff Davis in the third round of the playoffs. | Photo by Mark Rogers
