Though Columbia Academy led most of the game, the Cougars couldn’t hang on in a 15-14 loss to Silliman Institute Friday night.
That sets them at 0-1 as they head on the road this week to battle Presbyterian Christian School, which lost 36-7 last week to West Marion.
CA held a 14-9 lead from the second quarter into late in the fourth quarter but ended up on the losing end when Silliman punched in a score from 1 yard out with 3:05 left.
“It’s who leads at the end of the game that counts,” head coach Randy Butler said afterward. “We can learn from this, and we will learn from this. Sometimes it doesn’t work out.”
The Cougars went up 6-0 on their first drive with Drew Havard scoring on an 8-yard run on the first drive with 9:58 left in the first quarter. Peyton Rowell’s PAT kick hit the right upright and was no good.
The drive was highlighted by Ras Pace’s passing connections to Robert Johnson and Riles Stuart and Havard’s running. Pace was 12-24 on the night for 138 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Havard on the night carried three times for 15 yards and a touchdown, and Stuart led the offense, carrying the pigskin 15 times for 71 yards. Pace also had 10 carries for 43 yards.
CA staved off an early run by the Wildcats after a huge sack by Hunter Courtney and then an interception by Gavin Duncan. Kris Ginn also had an interception on the night for the Cougars. Defensively, Ginn had 15 tackles on the night, and Patrick Gill and Cole Rowell each had 16.
Silliman got its first two points after a snap sailed over the head of Columbia Academy punter Patrick Gill, who was called for intentional grounding as he tried to throw a pass from the end zone.
“You can never look back and you can never take back plays, but we had two critical errors in the kicking game,” Butler said. “We also had some personal fouls, unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. That’s not going to be us. I will get that straight this week.”
Silliman scored again on a 5-yard pass with 7:01 left in the half and converted the kick to make it 9-6. With 5:42 to go before the intermission Pace found Robert Johnson for a 28-yard score. Pace also ran the two-point conversion in to give the Cougars a 14-9 lead.
On the night Johnson had six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Hunter Courtney caught 2 passes for 34 yards and Peyton Rowell one for 14 yards.
Columbia Academy held the lead until Silliman scored on a 1-yard run with 3:05 left in the game. The Cougars were unable to put together a drive and turned the ball over on downs with 1:38 left.
“The passing game worked well early,” Butler said. “But they made adjustments on the other side. We didn’t play as well as we could offensively. On the defensive side, it doesn’t matter whether it’s 15-14 or 98-97, we’ve got to keep them from scoring and keep them to one less than we’ve got.”
Butler expects the game this week at PCS to be a battle.
“I guarantee you that they will be much better this week,” he said. “I know that. They have a long history of being a good team. There’s no doubt they’ll get it turned around, and hopefully we can, too.”
Pictured Above: Columbia Academy running back Drew Havard bursts through the line. | Photo by Mark Rogers
