Both Columbia and East Marion won in blowout fashion Friday night as the Wildcats advanced to the second round and East Marion earned the No. 3 seed in Region 4-1A.
Columbia-42 Morton-7
The Wildcats (9-2) made a statement in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs Friday night with a dominant 42-7 win over Morton (3-9).
Freshman defensive tackle Jahiem Oatis set the tone early with a big hit for a loss on the first play from scrimmage, and the offense quickly followed suit. Columbia scored five times in the first half as Omarie Johnson ran for two long touchdowns, De’Torres Lewis scored on a jet sweep and Jamison Kelly made a great leaping grab for a touchdown from Ralpheal Luter.
Columbia added one more touchdown to open the second half before bringing in the subs as Kevon Cloyd plunged into the end zone from a yard out.
Columbia will play either Wilkinson County or Crystal Springs in the second round.
East Marion-36 Resurrection Catholic-7
With both teams sitting at 3-2 in district play heading into the game, East Marion proved to be the superior teams as 24 first-quarter points propelled it to a 36-7 win over Resurrection Catholic.
East Marion will travel to Noxapater (10-2) for the first round of the Class 1A playoffs next week. More details about the Resurrection game will be added shortly.
Pictured Above: Columbia's Jahiem Oatis stuffs a Morton ball carrier for a loss to open the game. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
