The narrative of the first-ever matchup between West Marion and Columbia Academy seemed to change by the quarter but ultimately ended in a 58-40 win for the Trojans.
During the first quarter, it seemed like Marion County football fans were in for a treat with Columbia Academy holding a slim 16-14 lead.
But then that second quarter happened and the Trojans reeled off 30 unanswered points to take a commanding 44-16 lead into halftime.
The third quarter had a bit of a mellow vibe with the Trojans milking the clock some and the Cougars failing to get anything going as West Marion extended its lead to 52-16.
But then the fourth quarter happened with Columbia Academy scoring at will, recovering two onside kicks and on the doorstep of making it a two-possession game. Down 52-32 with four minutes remaining, the Cougars were inside the red zone, but Dontavius McGowan stepped in front of a Ras Pace pass to the end zone, picked it off and raced 99 yards to the house to seal the deal.
The Trojans defense forced a punt to start the game, which led to an odd sequence that gave them great field position. The snap soared over Owen Harper’s outstretched arms and he gathered the ball about 30 yards behind the line of scrimmage and wisely threw it out of bounds to avoid giving the Trojans even better field position. The Trojans were clamoring for an illegal grounding call because the ball didn’t come anywhere close to reaching the line of scrimmage, but the officials ruled there was a receiver in the area.
Regardless, West Marion capitalized with Adryane James — filling in as the starting running back with Charles Lewis out with an ankle injury — capping off a five-play, 39-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. The Trojans converted the two-point conversion to take an early 8-0 lead.
The Cougars answered right back when Pace faked a speed option, dropped back and found Aaron Thomas behind two defenders in the back of the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown strike. With a two-point conversion, the game was knotted 8-8 with 3:56 remaining in the first quarter.
The best coaching decision of the night came on the ensuing kickoff. Columbia Academy’s pooch kickoff squirted out of bounds, but rather than taking the ball at its own 35-yard line, West Marion head coach Brad Duncan decided to make the Cougars kickoff again. The Cougars attempted the same type of pooch kick to keep it away from the Trojans return men, but it landed in the arms of James — who was lined up as an up man — and he raced 58 yards down the sideline to pay dirt to give the Trojans a 14-8 lead.
The Cougars, led by a 70-yard run by Drew Havard, drove 82 yards in just three plays as Pace scored from five yards out on a quarterback draw. With the two-point conversion, the Cougars took a 16-14 lead with two minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
The Trojans answered with a methodical 10-play, 73-yard drive that was capped off by a James 3-yard touchdown plunge into the end zone to give West Marion a 20-16 lead. The Trojans wasted no time getting back on the board as Ott Mitchell intercepted an errant Pace throw on the ensuing drive and Ketarious Cotton scooted in for a 3-yard touchdown. The Trojans converted the two-point conversion and took a 28-16 lead midway through the second quarter.
Following a three-and-out by the Cougars offense, Jeremiah Holmes found Cyrus Thompson on a quick hitch in the middle of the field, who then split the safeties and raced 75 yards to the end zone. Another two-point conversion gave the Trojans a 36-16 lead.
The Cougars found some traction on the ensuing drive, but stalled out with three consecutive incompletions that forced a turnover on downs inside Trojans territory. Once again, though, the Trojans struck quickly with Qavonte Swanigan catching a screen pass, juking the cornerback and scoring from 36 yards out to make it 44-16 going into halftime.
To begin the second half, West Marion turned it over on downs and the Cougars had another three-and-out offensively, setting up another long, methodical touchdown drive by the Trojans. Holmes capped off an 11-play, 60-yard drive, that took nearly eight minutes off the game clock, with a 2-yard touchdown run. With the two-point conversion West Marion was up big, 52-16, heading into the fourth quarter.
After both teams had sputtering drives, Columbia Academy staged a fervent comeback. Pace hit Riles Stuart on a deep ball after faking a receiver screen for a 55-yard touchdown. Following a two-point conversion, the Cougars marched right back down the field and chipped into the West Marion lead with Jake Brewer finding pay dirt from eight yards out.
Another two-point conversion and successful onside kick, Columbia Academy had the Trojans defense on its heel as it clung to a 52-32 lead and were struggling to slow down the Cougars offense, which began clicking on all cylinders.
With just under four minutes to play, the Cougars offense appeared unstoppable and with two consecutive onside kicks, things were starting to get interesting. The Cougars marched right back down the field to the West Marion 5-yard line, but McGowan’s interception return for a touchdown sealed the deal.
The Cougars would add another late touchdown — a 3-yard touchdown catch by Harper — but it wasn’t enough as the Trojans took the inaugural game of what will likely become an annual series.
Pictured Above: Adryane James (10) and Tyrese Smith (54) celebrate a 12-yard touchdown run. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
