Columbia Academy (2-5) knew it had its hands full Friday night in Mendenhall, taking on a Simpson Academy team that had dominated the rivalry for two decades until last season.
While it may have seemed improbable before the game, the Marion County private school got even more than it bargained for as it tied the game late, only to lose on a 35-yard Hail Mary pass as time expired 32-26.
“It was the last play of the game. We had tied it up, kicked it off and they moved it down the field, and we held them. There’s one second left and they just threw a jump ball up in the end zone — it was a single receiver — and he just jumped and made a great play,” CA head coach Randy Butler said. “It was a heartbreaking loss. Our kids played their hearts out and really didn’t deserve to lose, but those things happen. We just try to learn from it, grow from it, get over it and get ready for this week.”
Heading into the game, Butler was concerned about his defense defending Simpson Academy’s split-back veer offense, which is very uncommon to face in modern football. However, the Cougars rose to the occasion.
“For the most part, we defended it really well. We took away their outside dive running game, which is their bread and butter. They had to revert to more of an inside zone scheme, and they had some success doing that,” Butler said. “It was a physical, physical football game. I’m proud of our defense. They rose up to the occasion. I challenged them all week about being disciplined, physical and defending the veer, and for the most part, they rose up.”
While allowing 32 points may not seem like the defense rose to the occasion in a vacuum, Simpson scored on a kickoff to go along with the last-second heave. An underlying aspect of the game was Columbia Academy converting only 1-of-4 two-point conversions, missing out on six points, which was the final margin.
Butler said while the two-point conversions are always important, the kickoff return for a touchdown was more of a concern.
“It’s always an emphasis. We don’t kick field goals or PATs because we don’t really have a kicker, so coach Norman (Joseph) has a good plan every week for two-point plays,” he explained. “You go back and there’s a big play that hurts us. We squib a kickoff, the guy scoops it up and we miss about four tackles, and they score a touchdown. If we don’t give up that play, the outcome may have been different, but you never know. I don’t believe in could’ves or should’ves, but those were big plays in the game.”
Columbia Academy will look to put a halt to its current four-game skid when Sylva Bay Academy comes to town Friday night. While Sylva Bay is 1-6 this season, Butler believes it would be a mistake to buy into the Saints porous record.
“Terry Underwood, the head coach, and I are good friends. In fact, I hired him at Oak Grove when I got that job to be the defensive coordinator, so I know him and he knows me. He’s a disciplinarian,” Butler said. “They’ve struggled this year with injuries and they’re down in numbers, but the thing that you see is that their kids keep competing. They’re just a few plays away from a better record. You can’t look at the number of losses. I know they’ll come in and play hard.”
While the Saints may not be as bad as their record indicates, Butler is more worried about his own team dealing with distractions.
“I worry about the mindset of my team suffering a heartbreaking loss, having to prepare for a lower division team that has won one game, and on top of that, it’s senior night so there’s going to be a whole bunch of stuff going on that day,” he said. “Then we’ve got exams going on Wednesday through Friday so there’s a lot of distractions. I’m just challenging them to every day give me about two-and-a-half hours of pure focus on football. When the exams and the senior night stuff is over, then we need to play some good football.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Pictured Above: Drew Havard is wrestled to the ground by a Simpson defender. | Photo Courtesty of Magee Courier
