Highly touted Columbus High School junior Kylin Hill stole the show in this battle of star Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 1 running backs.
Dueling with DeSoto Central High School senior Alan Lamar, Hill rushed for 237 yards and one of his team’s two touchdowns. Lamar finished with 148 yards and scored all three of his team’s touchdowns.
However, the biggest run of the night came from 238-pound defensive tackle/punter Tahj Sykes. The biggest play of the night came from sophomore place-kicker Chris Taylor.
Taylor kicked a 36-yard field goal with 2 minutes, 44 seconds remaining as Columbus defeated DeSoto Central 23-21 in the region opener for both teams Friday night at Falcon Field. The game-winning kick was set up by a 25-yard run by Sykes on a fake punt from the Columbus 39-yard line with a little more than five minutes remaining.
“I needed a lot help to win this one, but that is what this team is all about,” Hill said. “We are always fighting to overcome.”
On this night, the Falcons fought to overcome for four quarters. Columbus was penalized 13 times, including seven holding calls. The Falcons overcame two turnovers. Columbus also overcame not playing with leading rusher Kendre Conner, who missed the game with a sprained ankle suffered two weeks ago in a loss to West Point.
Columbus also overcame a 21-10 halftime deficit by overcoming Lamar, who dominated in the first half while scoring touchdown Nos. 15, 16, and 17 on the season.
“This is the kind of game we would have never won last year,” Columbus senior linebacker Mario Bradford said. “This is the new Columbus. We had to show them what playing defense is all about. We aren’t going back to our old ways. It’s a new team and a new identity.”
Columbus fought uphill most of the night, despite gaining 430 yards of offense and running 24 more plays than its opponent.
All of the hard work and misery was forgiven after Kiren Sharp intercepted a pass to seal the victory with less than two minutes left. A senior cornerback, Sharp was all alone with no one within 15 yards of him when the Columbus defense pressured a bad pass for the final time. Much like a center fielder would catch a game-ending flyout, Sharp made the pick and sent the home crowd into hysteria.
“I know the question before it is asked,” Sharp said. “Yes, I said to myself, ‘You can’t drop this.’ That was probably the hardest we have ever had to work for a win around here.”
With Conner out of the game, the rushing workload fell to Hill. The junior moved even further up some Division I recruiting boards by toting the pigskin 34 times. Quarterback C.J. Gholar also rushed 15 times for 73 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown, thanks in large part to a block by tackle Michael Bailey.
Conner didn’t practice all week and couldn’t apply any pressure on his foot until Thursday. Coach Randal Montgomery expects him back for a region game next week at Tupelo.
“We talked to Kylin first of the week and told him it was totally on him,” Montgomery said. “He is a veteran with a lot of accolades. You don’t get accolades because you back down from challenges. He responded like we thought he would.”
Hill had the extra motivation of being paired up against one of the state’s best on the other sidelines.
“It really motivated me. I can’t tell you that it didn’t,” Hill said. “You know what (Lamar) can do, so you want to show what you can do.”
DeSoto Central averaged better than 400 yards per game in it first five games. The Jaguars finished with 254 yards against the Falcons.
The strong play of Lamar also motivated a Columbus defense that has performed well against some of the state’s elite offenses.
“We knew how good their offense was,” Sharp said. “We took it as a personal challenge. We came out sluggish in the first half and really didn’t have that focus we needed. After he broke a couple of runs, it got our attention.”
Montgomery has asked his team to play with the engine at full throttle for four quarters. Still young in several spots, the Falcons are still working to process that message. The rally almost went for naught when DeSoto Central fumbled a second-half kickoff, leading 21-20. The Jaguars eventually recovered and lateraled to Lamar for a 55-yard gain. This drive was stopped with a turnover on downs at the Columbus 6.
“We have those letdowns and we have been preaching that since the start of the season,” Montgomery said. “We changed a few things on defense in the second half. We gave (DeSoto Central) some things they had not seen on film. The kids really did a great job of understanding what we were trying to do and making those changes.”
The tone of tenacious defense was set on the game’s first possession. Chris Blair had a jarring hit and strip of a DeSoto Central wide receiver. Bradford made the recovery. A Tyran Smith interception was the Columbus defense’s other takeaway.
After Bradford’s recover, Columbus quickly converted the short field to build a 7-0 lead. From there, DeSoto Central held the better of the activity until Columbus turned things around on the defense in the second half.
“We were embarrassing ourselves for a while there,” Bradford said. “(Lamar) is good, but we made him really good.”
After the Columbus defense righted the ship, it fell to the kicker. Montgomery had confidence after seeing Taylor hit a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter. A 35-yard kick brought his team within 21-13 at halftime.
The sophomore kicker then made it 3-for-3 when his 36-yard game-winner cleared with ease. After the game, the defensive players lifted Taylor on their shoulders. Defensive captain Christopher Deloach then asked the soccer standout-turned football player to lead the team in prayer.
“I want to thank God for being in this position,” Taylor said. “I had a lot of confidence after I made the first kick. I knew the other two would go through. However, I never thought I would be in a position to win this game.”
Many of the Falcons probably felt the same way.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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