LOUISVILLE — Karon Hawk had room to run.
When the Columbus High School senior defensive back seized an overthrown pass by Louisville quarterback Jace Hudspeth near the Falcons’ 25-yard line, he had nothing but green grass in front of him. Hawk took the interception well into Louisville territory, eventually chased down at the Wildcats’ 19-yard line.
The pick, less than a minute into the second quarter of Friday’s game at R.E. Hinze Stadium in Louisville, set up the Falcons inside the red zone with a prime chance to tie up the game at 7-all.
But a wide-open Jakaylin Lewis dropped a throwback pass on third down, Darion Mosley came up short on a fourth-down fake, and Columbus gave the ball right back to Louisville without cashing in.
Missed opportunities like that one hurt Columbus (0-1) all night in Friday’s 13-0 loss to Louisville (1-0) in what Falcons coach Joshua Pulphus admitted was a winnable contest.
“We had our chances,” Pulphus said. “We had our chances big time.”
The Falcons’ offensive output — or lack thereof — was somewhat reminiscent of early last season, where Columbus didn’t score its first touchdown on offense until the final seconds of their third game of the season.
But that team went on to win four games, a big step up from its winless 2018 season, and Pulphus said the Falcons’ defensive performance Friday against a perennial MHSAA Class 4A power was a good sign for things to come.
“We’re playing championship-level, contender teams,” Pulphus said. “We were in the ballgame like we needed to be.”
Louisville took down Columbus 32-6 in the Falcons’ home stadium last year, and Wildcats coach Tyrone Shorter said he took notice of his opponent’s defensive development.
“Coach Pulphus, he’s a defensive guy, and they had a pretty good defense,” said Shorter, the former head coach at Noxubee County. “That team’s improving, and they’re going to get there.”
Still, Columbus will have a ways to go before it reaches the level of Louisville, which went 11-3 last season and lost to Greenwood in the Class 4A quarterfinals. Shorter said his team managed a shutout despite some warning signs on defense.
“We’ve got to clean up a lot of stuff,” he said. “We’re still busting some coverages that we’ve got to clean up. We’ve got to recognize formations a little bit quicker.”
Additionally, Shorter said, at least five or six of his players are dealing with minor injuries, some of which were suffered in last week’s scrimmage against Noxubee County.
But running back Emory James, who missed the scrimmage entirely with a leg injury and was at roughly “75 percent” Friday, still delivered a standout performance for the Wildcats. Among James’ highlights was a 67-yard run late in the first quarter that took Louisville from its own 10 to the Columbus 42.
“The kid gave his all, and that’s all we can ask for,” Shorter said of James.
A few plays later, though, Hawk picked off Hudspeth and nearly scored, ending the Wildcats’ possession. Columbus responded by turning the ball over on downs.
“We needed to score there,” Pulphus said. “I think that would have changed the momentum.”
The Falcons got possession back on a punt but gave it away almost as quickly, turning over the football on downs again on a fake punt run that was quickly snuffed out.
That time, Louisville took advantage of the Columbus miscue. On a key third-down run in Falcons territory, James juked a defender and bounced outside to move the chains. The Wildcats kept finding success running toward the sideline until they got near the goal line, where Hudspeth scored from 2 yards out on a quarterback sneak — his second such score of the night.
Columbus nearly went three and out again before quarterback Ethan Conner found Omari Williams open downfield for a big conversion. That was rare, though, as Williams was among the Falcons receivers who had trouble catching the football Friday.
On Columbus’ very first drive of the game, Conner fired to Williams, and the ball glanced off the wideout’s hands and into the arms of Louisville’s Kylan Tippett. It was a play that promptly killed much of the Falcons’ confidence, Pulphus said.
“We just didn’t make those plays that we needed to,” Pulphus said. “We didn’t catch the ball when we needed to.”
Columbus promptly allowed Louisville to convert two fourth downs through the air, the second of which got the Wildcats down to the Falcons’ 7. Hudspeth capped the drive with a 1-yard sneak for the first touchdown of the game.
Trailing 13-0 at halftime, Columbus again couldn’t get anything going in the second half. The Falcons nearly fell victim to a safety before two big runs by Conner got them out from their own 1-yard line and into Louisville territory.
Conner exited in the fourth quarter after a couple hard hits and some cramping brought on by the heat and humidity, and Williams filled in admirably for the Falcons’ final two series. Still, Columbus couldn’t score.
But despite the offensive struggles, Pulphus said he’s still optimistic about the season to come. He told his players in their postgame huddle to shift their focus onto next week’s game at Holmes County Central.
“We’re proud of where we’re at,” Pulphus said. “We just know we’ve got to come back Monday ready to work and ready to get better.”
Shorter, meanwhile, said he saw the same improvement in the Falcons that Pulphus did.
“They’re really working their tail off, and they came to play,” Shorter said. “Two good football teams played tonight.”
Louisville 13, Columbus 0
First quarter
L — Jace Hudspeth 1 run (Nick Jackson kick)
Second quarter
L — Hudspeth 2 run (kick failed)
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
