New uniforms, a new coaching staff and a new season served the Columbia Wildcats well in their season-opening 40-13 win Friday night at Richton.
Columbia came out the gates firing on all cylinders, forcing a punt after a Richton 3-and-out, Ralpheal Luter connecting with De’Torres Lewis on a 33-yard fade route on the offense’s first play and Tryson Johnson scoring from 15 yards out on a jet sweep on Columbia’s second play to give the Wildcats an early 7-0 lead.
Richton’s kick returner then muffed the ensuing kickoff, and Teshonne Franklin pounced on the loose ball, but it would be for naught. Three penalties forced Columbia into a 4th-and-25, and Luter launched a beautiful deep ball over two leaping defenders, but Lewis lost the ball between their outstretched arms and dropped the pass.
After a Richton punt and a Columbia turnover on downs, the Rebels offense finally got moving. Richton’s Za’Darius Mitchell had more than 70 yards on a run and a reception on back-to-back plays to set up quarterback Dylan Farve finding the end zone on a 3-yard plunge, trimming the Columbia lead to 7-6 seconds into the second quarter.
But then Columbia took complete control of the game, scoring 14 points in 10 seconds. Luter scrambled outside of the pocket to his right and hit Lewis behind the defense along the sideline for a 62-yard, catch-and-run touchdown. Then CHS defensive end Justin Lee applied pressure in Farve’s face on the Rebels’ first play and tipped the ball up in the air into free safety Jamison Kelly’s waiting arms. Kelly scampered 40 yards untouched to pay dirt, and Harrison Foxworth drilled his third PAT of the night to make it 21-6 with 11:05 remaining in the first half.
Columbia then drove 62 yards following another Richton punt, and Luter capped off the drive with a 2-yard plunge into the end zone on a quarterback sneak to make it 27-6 midway through the second quarter.
Freshman running back Omarie Johnson, in his first start, then put the game on ice to open the second half. He took a handoff right, made two big cuts in the open field and took off to the races for a 64-yard score to make it 34-6. Johnson flashed what he could do with a full workload for the first time, rushing for 191 yards on 15 carries on the night, as the offensive line played to near perfection.
The line opened up big holes nearly every play in the running game as the Wildcats rushed for 336 yards as a team and kept the pocket clean for Luter.
“Man, our offensive line played great. I’m very proud of them,” first-year head coach Chip Bilderback said. “Omarie did what we expected as coaches; he’s a great football player. We’re excited about his future, but you have to give a bunch of credit to the offensive line. Omarie kept his legs going, and we did a great job with our H-backs getting kicks (kick-out blocks).”
Columbia’s defense shined in its own right, as well. The defensive line got constant penetration and disrupted the timing of both the passing and running game. The linebackers flowed to the ball and gang tackled when they reached the ball carrier, and the secondary stayed glued to Richton’s receivers and delivered several big hits. Kelly nearly wasn’t the only one with a pick-6 as Lewis came inches away from jumping a pass and taking off the other way following Johnson’s long touchdown run.
“We started to play defense the right way with the effort, energy and enthusiasm you have to have. That’s what we like to see. The defensive line really helped us to keep fresh people out there. We played probably 25 guys on defense, and that really helped us a ton,” Bilderback said. “That’s what excites me. When we go back to watch film and see mistakes, we’ll clean it up and keep improving.”
The Wildcats added one more score before it was all said and done with KJ Cloyd bullying his way into the end zone midway through the third quarter. If Bilderback wouldn’t have let up on Columbia’s final drive — as is custom with a big lead late — the Wildcats likely would’ve scored once more as they reached the Richton 3-yard line with a minute to play but opted to take a knee to run out the clock.
Despite winning the season opener by 27 points, Bilderback said “it was a real sloppy, typical first game.”
“Our effort was real good, and I thought our kids played with the passion you have to have. But we had some mistakes that when we got tired we got a little undisciplined, but those all correctable, which is exciting,” he said. “(Richton) played a little different front than what we prepared for, but our kids adjusted after a drive or two. I thought we had some players step up at a bunch of different positions on offense and defense that really sparked us and kept us going. To me, it wasn’t a one-person show but a whole-team effort.”
One of the big storylines coming into the season was who would be Columbia’s starting quarterback after Javen Moses replaced Luter in the Wildcats’ fourth game last year. But it was Luter who drew the start and played the majority of the game, though Bilderback wasn’t ready to commit either permanently quite yet.
“What excited me most about Ralph was he made the right reads and made some good throws. He also ran the ball well. Javen is still a great player, and I say it all the time that I still have two really great quarterbacks. I’m excited about their future,” he said. “Ralph really played well and did exactly what we knew he could do. He’s coming off a hamstring injury, so we’re excited about (him playing well). Javen had some good snaps, too. We’re going to keep progressing, and there’s still a lot of competition going on, but I was encouraged by Ralph’s leadership tonight.”
Luter went 2-6 for 95 yards, a touchdown and an interception to go along with five carries for 36 yards and a score. Moses completed his only pass for no gain and had one carry for four yards.
Columbia returns home in Week 2 for a crosstown showdown with East Marion (1-0) Friday night at 7.
Pictured Above: Columbia's Teshonne Franklin dives on a loose fumble on a kickoff. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
