Columbus High School senior defensive lineman Christopher Deloach had nightmares after last season’s game against Lowndes County rival New Hope.
“They ran for 200-something yards against us,” Deloach said. “They ran over, around, and through us all night. It took a while to recover from that. It may have been my longest night on a football field.”
With the mind-set of stopping the run and preventing a repeat performance, the Columbus defense administered a dominating performance in a 27-6 win Friday night at Falcon Field.
“This is a big county rival, so it’s all about bragging rights,” Columbus senior linebacker Mario Bradford said. “They thought they were too good for us a year ago, so it was good to come back out here and even up the score for one night. The defense really brought it tonight. I am proud of my guys.”
Columbus allowed 280 rushing yards in a 35-24 defeat last season at New Hope. On Friday, Columbus held New Hope to -20 yards rushing. The Trojans had slightly better success in the air, collecting 151 yards.
The Columbus defense allowed no first-half points for a second-straight week. After faltering in the second half last week in a 25-8 loss at Noxubee County, the Columbus defense persevered and finished the job.
New Hope punted seven times and turned the ball over twice. The Trojans didn’t work the ball into Falcons’ territory until late in the third quarter, when Tae-kion Reed blocked a field goal and C.J. Lewis carried the loose ball to the Columbus 32-yard line. The Trojans scored on that possession on quarterback Thomas Stevens’ 7-yard run. The team’s final possession was its other march into Columbus territory.
“The whole game plan was to stop the run,” Columbus senior linebacker Damonta Kidd said. “We knew they couldn’t beat us passing the ball. We just had to totally shut down the run. We did that. We pretty much dominated at the line of scrimmage. That was the key to the game.”
Columbus shifted to a 4-2-5 defensive alignment in the offseason. Columbus second-year head coach Randal Montgomery said he felt like this team finally found a comfort level in the new scheme.
“The defensive effort was great,” Montgomery said. “They have played well all season learning a new way of doing things. We had a size advantage up front, so we wanted to take advantage of that.”
Deloach, Chris Blair, and Kidd pretty much made it impossible for Stevens to find any time to pass. New Hope had thrown for 579 yards in its first two games. Neither Stevens nor reserve J.J. Jackson had anywhere near that type of success against the Falcons.
“It is fun when you have six or seven guys flying to the football,” Deloach said. “That is the biggest thing we took away from last week (against Noxubee County). In the second half, we weren’t aggressive. We had one or two guys getting to the ball instead of four or five. It is more fun when you are attacking and everybody is there at the same time. That was the plan for tonight. When the ball was snapped, we all wanted to be in the backfield. We wanted to rattle them. They have some great receivers, so we had to make sure (the New Hope quarterbacks were) having to find those receivers on the run.”
Columbus continues to make strides on offense. The Falcons moved the ball into Trojans’ territory on their first 12 possessions. However, time and time again, the New Hope defense found a way to make that one play when it needed it the most.
Two field goals by Chris Taylor and a 9-yard touchdown run by C.J. Gholar staked Columbus to a 13-0 halftime lead.
Columbus had 559 yards of offense, including 396 rushing. Kendre Conner rushed for a career-best 227 yards on 21 carries, with two second-half touchdowns. Kylin Hill had his second-straight 100-yard game with 100 yards on 13 rushes. Gholar added 19 rushes for 59 yards.
Conner, who opened the season with a 100-yard rushing game against Kemper County, bounced back after he suffered a concussion in the first quarter last week and had to leave the game.
“This has been the longest week possible,” Conner said. “I couldn’t practice for most of the week because I hadn’t been cleared. I knew they were going to let me play Friday, so I had to find a way to stay in game shape. That was tough.
“Even though it wasn’t my fault, I felt I let my team down last week. I had to make sure to come out and redeem myself with a really good game. This a rivalry game, and they did a great job against us last year, so I wanted to make up for last week, and the team wanted to make up for last year.”
Still, Columbus had little to show for its 12 marches into New Hope territory. The Falcons had five scoring drives but also missed a field goal, had the field goal block, turned the ball over on downs four times, and fumbled once.
“We simply have to learn how to finish,” Montgomery said. “I think from 20 to 20 we are one of the best teams in the state. If we get inside the 20-yard line, we really have struggles. We have to find a way to address that. The turnover situation was much better (one Friday after six against Noxubee County). We also made more plays in the passing game we have been making. However, we have to score.
“When we get into the heart of the region schedule and play some of the really great teams in that region, we have to score. We will have to be the complete package by then. As a coach, you feel much better than you did a week ago. However, we have to keep working to find a way to score.”
Conner said the Falcons let up when they get into the red zone. He said there is a feeling of accomplishment without the end result being met.
“That is something we have to work on in practice,” Conner said. “It’s not a great drive until you get those points. When the field gets compact there at the end, we get rushed. You can’t do that. You have to do the same things that got you to this point.”
On this night, the Columbus defense made up for any offensive shortcomings. Senior free safety Hezekiah Mazingo and junior tackle Tahj Sykes continued their strong starts to the season. Senior Kiren Sharp, junior Derrick Beckom, and junior Chris Blair had things on lock down in the secondary on those rare occasions New Hope broke the long play. The takeaways were an interception by Sharp and a fumble recovery by Lawrence Tate.
The tone was set when Columbus players ran through the banner to take the field. Bradford led the way with his arms raised over his head and his body breaking out some new moves.
“I have to admit I was really excited because were playing New Hope,” Bradford said. “I had a new dance move I wanted to try out there at the beginning. It was my job to get the guys pumped. We had a job to do. Personally, I think we did it well.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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