Though the results haven’t come, Columbus High football has been so close to achieving victory each week this season.
Entering Friday’s matchup against surprising Region 1-5A favorite Lake Cormorant, the Falcons’ last four losses have been by one possession, with two of the four losses being by a combined total of four points.
Nevertheless, Friday was out of character for Columbus. The Gators (5-1, 3-1 district), fresh off an upset win over four-time defending state champion West Point, experienced no letdown at all in Columbus, shutting down the Falcons (1-6, 1-3) and leaving with a 28-0 victory.
“At the end, those lopsided losses weigh on you,” Columbus coach Joshua Pulphus said. “I don’t care who you are. You could be so close for so long, then we had a few bad calls and shoot, it was like, ‘Here we go again.’ The big thing is we have to keep fighting and battling through adversity. I’m proud of the effort my guys played with; they finished out strong.”
The first quarter showed promise from Columbus, as Elijah Short produced an interception on the first defensive series, then the Falcons moved to midfield on their first offensive possession.
A fumble halted any momentum, but Columbus moved the ball to the red zone on its next offensive chance. The scoring opportunity went by the wayside when Falcons quarterback Ethan Conner overshot his receiver and sailed a pass right into the arms of Lake Cormorant’s Tony McCray Jr.
“That first quarter, we just tried to put the ball in our playmakers’ hands,” Pulphus said. “We missed a lot of balls and missed those game-changing plays. We tried to be a little different this week on offense and tried to air it out a little bit more. But if we’re going to do that, we have to make those plays. Those (turnovers) took a little momentum out of the air, and we have to regroup and come back Monday ready to work.”
Lake Cormorant quarterback Telvin Amos got his team on the board before halftime with a one-yard run for a touchdown, as the Gators took a 7-0 lead into halftime. Columbus couldn’t keep up with Lake Cormorant’s balanced offensive attack in the second half, allowing two more touchdowns on the ground and one through the air.
“Lake Cormorant is a good team and always has been,” Pulphus said. “We came in knowing we had to control their players, and we did a good job at first. Long story short, the spirit and morale went down in the third quarter. We just have to stay engaged the whole game.”
Columbus is back in action against West Point on the road on Friday.
Lake Cormorant 28, Columbus 0
LC 0 7 7 14 — 28
C 0 0 0 0 — 0
Second quarter
LC — Telvin Amos 1 run (Kevin Ruiz kick)
Third quarter
LC — Amos 15 run (Ruiz kick)
Fourth quarter
LC — Jordan Martin 35 pass from Amos (Ruiz kick)
LC — Jaiden Gray 5 run (Ruiz kick)
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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