NEW HOPE — In a game with 13 punts, 5 lost fumbles and 4 interceptions, putting together a few good offensive plays even for one drive could be the difference.
Columbus High School quarterback Omari Williams agreed.
Williams completed five passes for 86 yards on a second-quarter possession, twice converting on third-and-13, leading the Falcons to their only touchdown of the night in a 10-0 win over New Hope in the MHSAA Class 5A, Region 1 opener for both teams Friday night.
“This is huge,” Columbus coach Joshua Pulphus said. “For one, it’s a great division win. Now the games really matter, so this was a big win for us and our kids.
“Our goal was to control our own destiny and make it to the playoffs. We’ve got a long way to go, and we still have things to clean up, but this win is huge.”
Williams capped the scoring drive with a 28-yard pass to Antonio O’Neal on third-and-4. The Falcons overcame a sack and a holding penalty to take a 10-0 lead.
It was the fifth consecutive win for the Falcons over the Trojans, and they now own a 16-5 lead in the series.
A 27-yard scamper by Williams on the game’s second play led to a Darion Mosley 26-yard field goal, and that the Falcons would need no more offense is a credit to the almost savage defensive effort they turned in against a Trojans team that had scored 58 points in its first two games. Aside from the routine hard hits, twice a New Hope player had his helmet knocked off of his head by a Columbus tackler.
“They’re an unbelievable defensive team,” New Hope coach Seth Stillman said. “Coach Pulphus is an unbelievable defensive coach, and you know every time you play Columbus you can mark that up: They’re going to play great defense. And I thought he called an unbelievable game.”
“Everybody comes in with a plan, but a plan is only as good as the first time you get hit in the mouth,” Pulphus said. “Our coaching staff did a great job of adjusting, and we rely a lot on our kids, too. They tell us what they see. New Hope did a lot of things that tested our rules.”
New Hope quarterback Ty Crowell is the type of player who could throw a wrench into anyone’s defensive plan, but Crowell was on the run all night. He did turn some of those scrambles into positive yardage, but the pressure didn’t help the passing game.
Crowell completed more passes to the Falcons (three) than he did to his teammates (two), although one of the interceptions was tipped and another came on a deep ball on fourth down on New Hope’s last possession.
The running game, other than Crowell, fared little better. Aside from sacks, Crowell rushed seven times for 90 yards, including runs of 19 and 33 yards when the outcome was still in doubt. Overall, however, Columbus held New Hope to 139 yards of offense and just 40 yards passing, 37 of them on a throw to Richard Guy that gave the Trojans a first down at the Falcons 38 early in the fourth quarter. But a run stuffed for no gain, a near-interception near the goal line and two incomplete passes gave the ball back to Columbus.
The Trojans did have their chances, especially early in the game. A snap Williams was not ready for bounced off of his face mask and was recovered by Salia Diabagate at the Falcons 16. But two plays later, New Hope fumbled it right back to Columbus, with linebacker Hemyar Nagi falling on it for the Falcons.
The Falcons went backward because of two penalties, and the Trojans got the ball back on the Columbus 31. This time it took just one play for the Falcons to get it back on a New Hope fumble.
“I thought we had a perfect storm of things go wrong for us,” Stillman said. “We turned it over six times, and it’s really, really hard to overcome that no matter how good your defense is.”
And it was good. The Falcons punted eight times, in addition to three turnovers, and were held to less than 3 yards per carry. But the Trojans had no margin for error, and at what turned out to be key plays, they could not stop Williams.
At the time, it was still early, and nobody knew those plays would prove to be critical moments. But Pulphus pointed out another Williams play that did come at a key moment, as the Falcons were trying to put away the game.
As the clock ticked toward the 1-minute mark, Columbus faced fourth-and-14. The Trojans put pressure on Williams, which happened often, and he stepped up and began scrambling to his right, eluding New Hope defenders until he was 3 yards past the first down marker. The Falcons kept the ball and ran out the clock.
Making the outstanding play a bit more outstanding is that Williams took it upon himself to do that just two series after a similar play resulted in a fumble.
“He kind of got mad,” Pulphus said. “He came over to the sideline, and I told him now you’ve got to go win the game. I’m so proud of him.”
It wasn’t easy to single out any players as standouts on defense after a 10-0 game, but both coaches tried.
“I think both of our inside linebackers, Alex McCarter and Rashaud Wilkins, played unbelievable,” Stillman said.
Pulphus pointed to senior Elijah Short.
“He’s responsible for our calls and coverages,” the coach said. “At the Tupelo game (a 38-14 loss) he had made some calls that led to Tupelo scoring, but this week he did a better job. He’s our overall leader on the back end.”
Columbus 10, New Hope 0
Columbus (2-3) 3 7 0 0 — 10
New Hope (3-1) 0 0 0 0 — 0
First quarter
C — Darion Mosley FG 26, 9:42
Second quarter
C — Antonio O’Neal 28 pass from Omari Williams (Mosley kick), 7:45
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