Two postponements on back-to-back nights forced Columbia’s road matchup with Tylertown to be played Sunday afternoon, but the Wildcats didn’t let it affect them in their district opener and dominated the Chiefs in a 46-0 blowout victory.
The game was initially delayed Friday night to 8:30 and eventually pushed to Saturday night when the rain and lightning didn’t clear up. Then storms struck again Saturday, and the game was eventually played Sunday at 2 p.m.
Head coach Chip Bilderback said it’s difficult as a coach to get your team ready to play three days in a row, and the reason the game was played Sunday rather than pushing it from Saturday to Monday was because both coaches agreed it would put them at a disadvantage going into their following game. He added it’s a credit to the players, coaches, fans and administration for not letting the weirdness of it all to hinder the Wildcats (6-0, 1-0) on the field.
“It was something I had never seen before,” he said. “You don’t want to play Monday and turn around and play in a district game Friday.”
While every regularly scheduled high school game begins at 7 p.m., Bilderback said it wasn’t much of a concern to play at 2 in the afternoon because that’s when the Wildcats begin practice during the week. He added it helped Columbia that the team practices really hard during the week and doesn’t take conditioning lightly.
The Wildcats offense scored on every possession except for one without turning the ball over, and the defense got an interception.
“Our kids came out with great enthusiasm and intensity. They just love playing football and love competing. I thought that was pretty hard for (Tylertown) to match, and our defense really got after it,” Bilderback said. “Offensively it started on our first drive where we overcame a couple of third downs and a couple penalties to go 90 yards on the opening drive.”
Columbia, the top ranked team in Class 3A, will stay on the road this week and travel to Bassfield to play Jeff Davis County (2-5, 0-1). The Jaguars are coming off a 16-6 home loss to West Marion and had to deal with the elements themselves. Jeff Davis and West Marion got to play seven minutes into the third quarter Friday before the remainder of the game was postponed to Saturday.
Bilderback said it would be a mistake to look at Jeff Davis’ 2-5 record and think the Jaguars aren’t as good as they historically have been.
“It’s going to be a battle. We’re going to have to go in there and play a four-quarter game and play well. There’s no question about it,” he said. “We’re behind the 8-ball in the sense that we’re behind a day of grinding because we’ve lost a day of preparation, but I think it’s something that I’m excited to see how our guys respond. They’re good; I don’t care what anyone says about their record and all that. It’s a good football team that’s extremely well coached, and (Lance Mancuso) probably has the most state championships leading that program.”
Last October the Wildcats announced themselves as contenders with a 14-12 home victory over Jeff Davis, who was coming off a state title in 2017, only to have the Jaguars knock them out of the third round of the playoffs in a 27-15 contest.
Bilderback said he wholeheartedly believes the Wildcats are going to get Jeff Davis’ best game, and the records mean nothing at this point.
Friday’s game will also be the return of Louisiana Tech commit Jamison Kelly, who missed the first seven weeks with a hip injury. The senior free safety practiced three times last week without any issues, but it was ultimately decided that he should get more practice in before returning to the field. He was second on the team with 88 tackles last year and intercepted six passes.
Sunday was the Kentrel Bullock and Omarie Johnson show at Tylertown. Bullock, an Ole Miss commit who recently was bumped up from a 3-star prospect to a 4-star according to 247Sports, amassed 210 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. Johnson rushed for 110 yards and three scores on only eight carries.
Pictured Above: Columbia's Kentrel Bullock looks for space against Lawrence County Sept. 20. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
