In front of a packed house in Foxworth Friday night, an atypical shootout ensued with the home fans going home happy with a 58-40 West Marion win over Columbia Academy.
West Marion head coach Brad Duncan knew the Trojans were facing a scrappy Cougars squad, but didn’t expect the game to get interesting again after holding a 36-point lead in the fourth quarter and even rested his starting quarterback for two series.
But Columbia Academy made it a close game in the fourth quarter with 24 points and two successful onside kicks.
“What (CA coach Randy) Butler has talked about all year about his team — I’ve talked to him several times — there is no quit. We knew we had to score a lot of points because we knew they were going to keep coming. I really thought when we got the touchdown after the half (Holmes’ 2-yard touchdown to give West Marion a 52-16 lead with 2:33 remaining in the third quarter), I thought ‘Well, that’s enough.’ But when you play those guys, it’s never enough,” Duncan explained. “They executed the onside kicks to perfection two times in a row, then we’re trying to run the clock out and turn the ball over. Holy cow, what a way to start this series if you think about it. You have a scoreboard lit up on both sides. Both sides had their fans here. It was just big for us to get a ‘W,’ though. We needed it really, really bad.”
In what appeared to be the inaugural game of an annual series — both coaches have hinted at such — Duncan highlighted the many layers as to why the game was so important and will continue to be.
“It’s huge for our community,” he said. “The crowd tonight on both sides — West Marion fans came out even though we’re struggling to see some history — and Columbia Academy had great fans show up. This is a big thing that’s going to be really good for us down the road. I told coach Butler, ‘Next year you have the chance to make this kind of money.’ It’ll draw fans. When you have this kind of score, it won’t matter where we’re both at in the season.”
On the field itself, Duncan sang the praises for his first-year quarterback Jeremiah Holmes.
“Jeremiah was going up to line, reading the defense and when he would fake the handoff and take off backdoor, that was him strictly doing it on his own. He was just being a heady football player. That’s a sophomore doing that stuff — taking control of the game — and we’re very proud of him.”
Duncan admitted the Trojans were sweating during the Cougars fourth-quarter rally and got tired defensively.
West Marion (2-4) begins district play Friday night on the road against Seminary (3-3, 0-1) and while Duncan is happy for his team beating Columbia Academy, he knows it will have to be a quick turnaround to get ready for district.
“We have to go to Seminary — I know they come here every other year but it seems like we have to go there more often — coach (Brian) Rials will have them ready. If fans want to see somebody, they have a defensive lineman (Nathan Pickering) that has offers from Florida, Georgia and LSU. He’s the real deal. It’s time for district play, which is what we call the ‘Count Club’ because these are the ones that count as far as getting into the playoffs and seeding.”
For the Cougars, it’s all about finding a way to be consistent and play like they did in the first and fourth quarters for 48 minutes.
“I just told them we have to find a way to put four quarters together. It doesn’t matter how, but I have to find a way to push a button or turn a switch,” Butler said. “We’re too inconsistent — up and down, up and down. It goes back to how you’re living off the field, what you’re doing academically, socially, spiritually; all those things tie into together. Some of them don’t believe that, but I have to find a way, the coaches have to find a way and the kids have to find a way to put four quarters together and play like we did in the second half. If we do that, we’ll be fine.”
The Cougars were undone by several key miscues, including a bad snap on a punt and pick-six late in the game, which Butler believes come down to one thing: concentration.
Columbia Academy (2-4) will also be on the road Friday to take on Simpson Academy (3-3). The two teams were district rivals for a long time, but Simpson was bumped up to MAIS AAAA in the offseason, while CA remained in AAA. Last season was the first time in nearly two decades Columbia Academy won the rivalry match and did so twice.
However, Butler knows it’s a new season with two new teams.
“(Simpson Academy) is very tough and very well coached. They moved up to AAAA and we beat them twice last year, so they’ll be motivated I’m sure,” he concluded. “We have to find a way to go up there, play better defensively, on special teams and not have costly turnovers. When you give up scores to them when you’re on offense, it really hurts.”
Pictured Above: Dontavius McGowan, Nolan Miller and Keyon Brister combine for a gang tackle on Columbia Academy running back Jake Brewer last Friday night. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
