MACON — Rarely do open dates come into discussion in high school football circles.
However, Columbus High football coach Tony Stanford felt like Noxubee County had a huge advantage playing its second game of the season Friday night, while Columbus was playing its series opener.
Noxubee County made great strides from week one to week two en route to a 21-10 victory. Columbus built a 10-7 halftime lead but only had three first downs and 37 yards of offense in the final half.
“It is natural you are going to play your first game like it is your first game,” Stanford said. “I thought going in Noxubee County might have a step on us because they had already played. It is a 12-week regular season (in Class 6A). I was going to ask my team to play 12 regular-season games. That is simply too much, so we worked at a little bit of disadvantage, but I thought we did some things really well.”
Noxubee County dropped a 17-0 decision to Starkville in its season opener. The Tigers bounced back strong with scoring drives of 97 and 95 yards. They also scored a defensive touchdown, had eight tackles for loss, and six sacks.
A series of sacks sent Columbus senior quarterback Trace Lee to the sidelines early in the third quarter. The Falcons had just fallen behind 14-10 when Lee was swarmed on three straight plays, the last being a monster hit by Jeffery Simmons.
Lee missed the next offensive series but returned for one brief series. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter.
“I really don’t know (his status), but I don’t think anything is wrong,” Stanford said. “He had a headache and was in a lot of discomfort. We just really didn’t feel he needed to be back out there.”
Stanford said Lee not playing in the fourth quarter was precautionary and that his captain should be ready for Friday’s game against New Hope.
“We have a young offensive line and I thought they got overwhelmed at times,” Stanford said. “We have to play a little better there and be a little more physical up front.”
In relief, senior Kevin Jackson ran the offense. Columbus shifted mainly to option reads in the final half but failed to garner any good field position. Jackson was 1 of 7 for 11 yards. He threw an interception on the final play. Sophomore Kiren Sharp also threw a pass.
“Everybody knows we don’t have a true backup quarterback,” Stanford said. “I thought Kevin did a tremendous job of running the offense and trying to give us a chance. I thought we did a great job with our situation the best we could.”
Columbus hung tough before finally giving in on a 21-yard fumble return by Simmons in the closing minutes.
The Falcons built a 10-7 lead thanks to a 1-yard run by Jackson and a 20-yard field goal by Anthony Maleta.
Defensively, Columbus forced three turnovers and allowed only 223 yards of total offense. Senior outside linebacker Damian Moore was a dominating force with 12 tackles, including three for loss. Moore had a fumble recovery and an interception, while Alex Lipscomb had the other interception.
“I believe in this team a lot,” Stanford said. “We will win a bunch of games this season. We are ready to get back after it Monday and see what is next.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.