The trip to Natchez Friday night for the Columbia Academy Cougars didn’t go as planned as they were blown out 35-8 by Adams County Christian.
Cougars head coach Randy Butler Monday compared Adams to a Class 5A public school with its size, skill and talent, saying the Rebels are “really, really good.”
“Physically, they handled us up front on both sides of the line,” he said. “They’re big and have four or five 250-pound-and-bigger linemen, and we just had a hard time establishing the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”
On the first play from scrimmage, Preston Sauls was stopped for negative-5 yards, and it never got any easier for him or the Cougars rushing attack. The talented sophomore actually lost 14 yards on six carries, while the Cougars totaled just six rushing yards on 14 carries.
Following a three-and-out by CA to start the game, Cody Fortenberry intercepted an overthrown pass over the middle in the first start of his career to get the ball back for CA. It would be for naught, though, as the Cougars only went backward, and Trevor Courtney was stopped at the line of scrimmage on a fake punt on fourth-and-13.
CA’s defense forced a quick punt, but freshman quarterback Cole Fortenberry was subsequently sacked and stripped on the ensuing possession to give Adams the ball back just outside the red zone. That led to a 7-yard touchdown run by Cleven Dunbar to put Adams up 7-0 and started the onslaught.
On the opening play of the second quarter, Adams’ Jacorian Sewell took a direct snap and broke a few tackles on his way to a 29-yard touchdown scamper.
Following a three-and-out, another fake punt by the Cougars was unsuccessful, setting the Rebels up at CA’s 14 and preempting VJ Knight scoring on a quarterback sneak to make it 21-0 midway through the second quarter. The Rebels added another touchdown less than a minute later to make it 29-0 following Cole Fortenberry being picked off.
Following back-to-back punts, Cole Fortenberry hit Courtney on quick hitch that turned into a 38-yard catch-and-run down to the Adams 4. However, the freshman tried to connect with Courtney on a quick slant on the next play but stared him down, allowing the safety to jump the pass and end the threat.
Two plays later, Sewell broke four tackles before turning on jets and racing for a 91-yard touchdown that sent the Rebels into halftime up 35-0.
The Cougars forced a three-and-out on the Rebels’ opening drive of the second half, and the snap on fourth down went well over the punter’s head and gifted CA the ball at the Adams 5-yard line. On third down, Robert Johnson ran a perfect whip route toward the sideline, and Cole Fortenberry, while rolling to his left, put it right on the numbers for a 5-yard touchdown.
Late in the fourth quarter, with a running clock, another bad snap led to a safety for the Cougars that led to final score being 35-8.
The most encouraging thing for Butler during the game was the evident improvement of Cody Fortenberry, who is a star for the Cougars basketball team and joined the football team a week before the season. Butler said he really played well in the secondary and also had three tackles.
Another encouraging sign was CA’s play in the second half in which the Cougars outscored Adams 8-0 with a touchdown and a safety.
“If you can take away one positive thing now, it’s that we did play better in the second half and didn’t lay down. We kept battling,” he said.
The Cougars return home this week to play host to Brookhaven Academy. The Rebels (2-0) have played exceptionally well to begin the season with two blowout victories at home, besting Sylva Bay Academy 35-7 and Amite School Center 57-0.
“They’re very explosive offensively,” Butler said. “Looking at their first two games, they’re scoring a lot of points. One thing to me that they’ve improved on immensely is defensively. They got some kids who have grown up and played in that system. They gave up just seven points in one game and none in the second game. They’re playing well.”
Last season at Brookhaven, the Cougars came away with a 44-42 victory in a shootout in which they threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 340 yards and four scores. It was Sauls’ breakout game a year ago as he ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries (12.0 yards per carry).
Brookhaven quarterback Tyler Fortenberry, meanwhile, had a huge game himself, throwing for 370 yards, four touchdowns and two picks and rushing for 141 yards and two more scores. Fortenberry is back as a second-year starter for the Rebels and is off to a hot start this year.
