It was a tale of two halves in Clinton, La., for Columbia Academy in its season opener last Friday night.
After trailing 20-7 at the half, the Cougars wore Silliman Institute out on the ground in the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 28-8 to pull off a 35-28 come-from-behind win.
Second-year head coach Randy Butler knew the Cougars had it in them to mount a comeback.
“I told them at halftime — and I really believe this — we were going to win the game because we were in better shape, although we’re not in real good shape,” he said. “We were carrying it a little bit better. You saw (Silliman) — and I’m not pointing fingers — walking off the field and all. We take pride in being conditioned, but we still have a lot of work to do to get in shape.”
While a season-opening win is always a good sign, there were also some scares throughout the contest. Several players had to come off the field for extended periods of time due to cramping, and starters Drew Havard, Owen Harper and Jay Reagan were all lost for the game in the first half for various reasons. Butler noted that he can’t force the players to keep hydrated every day.
“We’ve not been in the heat very much because of the rain,” he said. “I just told them heat problems are on them. They have to eat right, put the right stuff in their bodies and it’s just a constant thing.”
After a couple of stalled drives to start the game, Silliman struck first when Myles Simmons hit Patrick Crain for a 69-yard score to take a 7-0 lead. Crain caught another touchdown pass from Simmons late in the first quarter, this time from 14 yards out, to put the Wildcats up 14-0 with 2:28 remaining.
It seemed like nothing was going Columbia Academy’s way as Ras Pace was picked off throwing into double coverage on a corner route on the ensuing possession. However, Jake Brewer forced a fumble that was recovered by Chance Fairley, which brought new life to the Cougars.
Pace made up for the costly turnover with an 11-yard touchdown strike to Aaron Thomas to cut the Silliman lead to 14-7 early in the second quarter. After a Silliman punt, things got a little weird.
The Cougars drive stalled out after two straight incompletions. Harper’s punt was blocked so he picked up the ball to run with it, but was stripped and Silliman returned the loose ball back for a touchdown. But it was called back for a block in the back.
It didn’t take long for Silliman to redeem itself, though. On the Cougars next possession, Simmons picked off Pace and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to put the Wildcats up
20-7 heading into the half.
After a Silliman punt to open the second half, Pace hit Thomas in stride on a wheel route, and Thomas weaved his way through the Wildcats defense for a 31-yard touchdown, cutting the lead down to 20-13. Columbia Academy’s ensuing kickoff appeared to be heading out of bounds, but it deadened out right next to the boundary. Silliman hesitated, expecting the ball to go out, allowing the Cougars to recover the kickoff.
The Cougars pounced on the excellent field position as Riles Stuart began to take over the game, rumbling into the end zone from nine yards out. The Cougars missed the two-point conversion and trailed 20-19.
That deficit grew just as fast as it shrank as Silliman’s Jack Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards to the house to give the Wildcats a 28-19 lead midway through the third.
A couple of big plays, highlighted by a 26-yard scamper by Brewer, led to a Hayden Fornea 5-yard touchdown plunge on the Cougars next drive to cut the lead to 28-27. It was Fornea’s first carry of his high school career as the Cougars were searching for some depth.
“I’d like to say he’s been practicing there every day, but no. Jake was cramping, Riles was cramping, Drew was out with heat exhaustion, so I think it was coach (Keith) Stanley who said to put Hayden Fornea (who was the Cougars leading tackler last season) back there, and when we handed it to him they didn’t look like they wanted a whole lot of him. He was scattering them when he hit them, too.”
Following a Silliman punt, the Cougars ground game took over. Stuart, Brewer and Fornea combined to carry the ball 10 consecutive times for 82 yards on a drive that took roughly seven minutes off of the clock and was capped off by a Stuart 5-yard touchdown. Fornea bullied his way into the end zone on the two-point conversion to put the Cougars up 35-28 with just over seven minutes to play.
While it’s the backs who gets the spotlight for the drive, Butler pointed to his senior left guard.
“We had Jay (Reagan, right guard) out and Colby (Thompson, center) out, but Jay Stringer just took it upon himself to lead them,” Butler said. “That was a huge drive. That really took it out of (Silliman) right there.”
The Cougars defense had three sacks during Silliman’s final two drives to seal the deal. Tyler Terry had two sacks for the game, while Hill Johnson had 1.5 and Fairley had one.
In his debut as the starting quarterback, Pace completed 11-of-23 pass attempts for 141 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The majority of his passes found Thomas, who had seven receptions for 103 yards and two scores.
Meanwhile, Stuart took his game to the next level, rushing for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in relief of Havard. Brewer was a perfect change-of-pace back for Columbia Academy, running for 83 yards on 10 carries. Fornea chipped in five carries for 30 yards and a touchdown.
The Cougars will be at home this week against PCS, which beat up on West Marion 38-18 to open its season. The Cougars front seven will have its hands full as the Bobcats ran for more than 430 yards against West.
Pictured Above: Riles Stuart takes a handoff from Ras Pace. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
