Even though it was rhetorical question, West Point High School senior wide receiver Demarrio Edwards still didn’t have an answer.
“I don’t know what we would do without our defense,” Edwards said. “We wouldn’t have a chance. I love those guys to death. They make us who we are. If you saw them play tonight, we owe them everything.”
On a night in which more than 400 yards were allowed, great normally isn’t the label applied to a defense. However, “great,” “super,” and “incredible” were among the words used to describe the defense after West Point edged Columbus 17-13 before a packed house Friday night at Falcon Field.
Columbus (2-2) advanced to the red zone (inside the 20-yard line) on 8 of 10 possessions. It scored only two field goals and a touchdown. On a night where Columbus ran 32 more plays (75 to 43) and gained 176 more yards (401 to 225), the defense stood tallest for West Point (2-1).
“We had a great night from 20 to 20,” Columbus coach Randal Montgomery said. “Once we got in scoring territory, we just didn’t have the answers. When you play a great football team, you have to take advantage of your chances. We didn’t and we sure had plenty of them.”
Columbus made two field goals, missed one field goal, had one field goal blocked, turned the ball over on downs twice, and fumbled on the West Point 9-yard line. The Falcons also had three potential Kylin Hill touchdowns brought back by holding penalties on runs twice and a block in the back on a kick return.
“We played our hearts out,” West Point junior defensive back Trevino Harris said. “I really don’t know any other way to describe it. We were out there the whole night it seemed like. We just kept making plays. No matter how bad the situation got, we felt like one play could change everything. I am so proud of these guys. We really had our backs against the wall the whole night and found a way.”
West Point coach Chris Chambless said adversity affected his team last week in a 28-6 loss at Starkville. Chambless said the team wilted when adversity hit midway through the game. On this night, adversity was the norm and the team bowed its neck and overcame.
“I just thought this team grew up,” West Point senior linebacker and defensive team leader Keonta Hampton said. “We were a much different team than we were against Starkville. I think we learned a lot in that game. They punched us in the mouth and we were slow to recover. This was such a physical game and we just kept pushing back. It’s about growing up and mentally having that edge.”
Hampton played with a broken thumb protected with a cast on his left arm. He gave relentless effort despite having limited mobility. He wasn’t the only one playing with his meter at full throttle.
“That was really West Point football,” West Point junior lineman Terrence Cherry said. “We got back to our identity. The first two weeks was not really our true potential. I think we were embarrassed last week. You could tell we came out tonight ready to hit some people.”
The Columbus defense would be under consideration for similar accolades. The West Point running back duo of Chris Calvert and Marcus Murphy were held in check. Murphy had 20 rushes for 61 yards, while Calvert had five rushes for 6 yards.
While the Columbus front line kept the West Point running game in check, Murphy still had the biggest play.
After Columbus grabbed a 13-10 lead with 5 minutes, 57 seconds left on a 13-yard touchdown run by Hill, Murphy returned the kickoff 50 yards to set West Point up in Columbus territory for only the fourth time.
On first down, Clayton Knight hit Edwards in stride for a 40-yard touchdown pass. Columbus cornerback Devon King collided with Edwards and fell, which allowed Edwards to stride with ease into the end zone.
“One play, that is all we talk about on the sidelines,” Edwards said. “As well as the defense was playing, it was all about one play. We just knew if we kept plugging away, something good would happen. Columbus has size and they are so physical on defense, so we knew this would be a hard-fought game.
“The coaches just told us to keep working, to work for four quarters. I thought that is what we did.”
While Chambless was immensely proud of his defense, he said the bottom line was getting a win.
“We really needed this for our season,” Chambless said. “At 1-1 coming in, we just needed a win. It didn’t matter how we got it. We needed this for our season, so it didn’t go the other way. Defensively, we were great. You know what Columbus is going to do. They really pounded the ball at us. When we just had to have a play, our guys made one. I think that’s special.”
On this night, a bunch of players were ready to make plays for the West Point defense. Junior defensive back Trey Brownlee broke through the line to block Chris Taylor’s second field goal try in the first quarter. Cherry had the big hit on Hill to stop a fourth-down run in the second quarter. The lone West Point takeaway was a strip by Harris and recovery by C.J. Melton in the red zone.
“That game was fun,” Brownlee said. “It was a whole lot better than last week. (Hampton) said we grew up this week. He pretty much nailed it.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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