Columbus High School senior linebacker Mario Bradford had all but given up one of his goals for the season.
“I really wanted a pick-six,” Bradford said. “Eventually you realize you are to going to run out of games. However, when I saw that ball coming right over the middle right at me, I got real excited. This was going to be my chance.”
Bradford put an exclamation point on Homecoming night at Falcon Field with a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown. In a season full of defensive masterpieces, Bradford recorded his unit’s first defensive score.
As the lead-in act for the Homecoming dance, Bradford ushered out Columbus’ 45-13 victory against Horn Lake in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 1 matchup.
With the win, Columbus improved to 5-2 and 3-0 in region play. After missing postseason play in heart-breaking fashion a year ago, Columbus has its sights set on finishing the deal this time.
“Everybody is so excited about being 3-0 in the region,” Columbus junior quarterback C.J. Gholar said. “We know we have some big goals, and we don’t want to stop here. At the same time, this hasn’t been done in a long time around here, so we are going to be excited and happy.
“Come Monday, we will get back out here and work on 4-0.”
After beating Tupelo 33-9 on the road a week ago, Columbus returned home to face the last-place team in the region. Coach Randal Montgomery urged his players to drown out all the activities of Homecoming week and told his players to focus on one task.
“Coach told us to go out and win this game for the community,” Bradford said. “He told us Homecoming was for the students and the alumni, and not for us. Our job was to not get caught up in the hype. Our job was to go out and win a ballgame to thank everybody for coming out.”
Despite a passing shower before kickoff, Falcon Field was packed. The crowd went away happy as Columbus moved to 4-0 at home.
Columbus put away Horn Lake (2-5, 0-3) in a similar fashion to the victory against Tupelo. The Falcons scored on the game’s first possession and were never threatened.
“We were in that position where you feel like this is a game you should win,” Montgomery said. “Still, you have to go out and do it on the field. The biggest challenge was to stay focused in what was going on on the field. I think we did a great job of that. We did a great job of finishing drives.”
Columbus had five scoring drives of 65 yards or more against Tupelo. Against Horn Lake, Columbus scored a season-high 38 points in the first half. The Falcons scored on 6 of 7 first-half possessions and missed a field goal on the other possession.
After back-to-back 200-yard rushing performances by Kylin Hill, the spotlight fell on Gholar. While scoring three touchdowns for a second-straight week, Gholar rushed 18 times for 154 yards. He also was 8 of 17 for 168 yards.
“I am really thankful to the coaches and my teammates for having the confidence they have in me,” Gholar said. “Whether it is Kylin or Kendre (Conner) or me, we are going to try get things going on the ground. We have an excellent offensive line, so whichever one of us gets the call is going to get the job done.”
Gholar found Hill on a 68-yard touchdown pass. Sophomore Patrick Jackson, who has been picking up some of the carries left behind by an injury to Conner, scored his first touchdown on a 5-yard run.
For the first time in three weeks, Conner dressed out, but he only drew one carry, allowing him more time to rest before a pivotal region showdown against Southaven (4-3, 1-2) next week.
“We wanted Kendre to get back out there and see some action,” Montgomery said. “Fortunately, we really didn’t need him in a game like this. Really proud of C.J., not only his on-field performance, but (for) his growth as a leader.”
Gholar drew the final four starts last season. During the offseason, Montgomery encouraged him to take control of the team as a leader. He also worked with Gholar and helped him learn how to make better decisions.
“Improved decision-making is the biggest thing that has happened to my game,” Gholar said. “I feel confident now in my ability to run it when it needs to be run and to pass it when it needs to be passed. I also feel better at not forcing it and just simply throwing the ball away when there is nothing there.
“The coaches have really put a lot of confidence in me. I am trying to pay that back by doing the things we need to do be successful.”
While Horn Lake had two big plays, the Eagles were contained most of the night. Damonta Kidd, Kiren Sharp, Hezekiah Manigo, Chris Blair, Christopher Deloach, and Bradford teamed to hold Horn Lake to -8 yards rushing.
Conversely, Columbus had 407 yards of offense, with Gholar giving the team its eighth 100-yard rushing performance.
As the final Homecoming balloons were sent to the heavens, Bradford shared his quarterback’s enthusiasm about 3-0.
“This has been a long time coming around here,” Bradford said. “There is no secret. We are having a lot of fun playing the game right now.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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