SOUTHAVEN — The Columbus High School football team put together one of its best drives of the season Friday night on its opening possession at DeSoto Central.

The Falcons’ momentum was short-lived.

After Columbus grabbed its first lead of the season, DeSoto Central rode the rushing game of Josh Booker and Shemaar Stapleton to a 49-14 victory in the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A, Region 1 opener for both teams at Frank Hamilton Field.

While Columbus (0-5, 0-1) has solved some its offensive struggles from earlier in the season, the Falcons remain a distance from playing a complete game.

“It seems like when we get a problem solved something else happens,” Columbus coach Eric Rice said. “You take a lot of positives from this game. However, you just have to play better. There are lot of areas where this game turned.”

Two would be field position and penalties.

The Falcons were beaten soundly in the field position department, largely due to a 19-yard average on four punts and 13 penalties for 97 yards. Nine of them were in the second half.

“Simply gave them too many opportunities,” Rice said. “Our margin for error is so small. It’s hard to overcome more than one mistake on any possession.”

On the plus side, junior Devarkas Ramsey ran for 100 yards for a second-straight game. Starting in place of senior running back Derrick Jordan, Ramsey for 145 yards and two more scores. In a loss last week Vicksburg, Ramsey rushed for two scores.

Ramsey capped an eight-play, 65-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown run to give Columbus a 7-0 lead less than four

minutes in.

DeSoto Central (3-3, 1-0) turned to Booker to ignite its offense. In a game delayed 45 minutes due to lightning, Booker was ready for the late call with six rushes in a 13-play, 62-yard game-tying drive.

Booker scored three times in the first half as the Jaguars took a 21-7 halftime lead.

The Jaguars didn’t do much out of their ordinary. They ran the ball on 48 of 54 offensive plays and committed one turnover (a fumble recovery by Dontae Gillespie).

Needing a spark on offense, Rice turned to junior quarterback Jordan Nash in place of junior starter Jaelan Craddieth. Nash led the team from the Columbus 35-yard line to the DeSoto Central 3 in the final two minutes of the half.

The Falcons ran out of time when Ramsey was denied at the goal line.

“Jordan really gave us a spark,” Rice said. “We had been wanting to give him some playing time. He really gave us a lift. Threw the ball to his spots. Real encouraging. Both (Craddieth and Nash) can do different things that can help us.”

In the second half, penalties and poor field position plagued the Falcons. Thanks to short punts, DeSoto Central had to drive only 24 yards for each of its first two second-half scores.

Ramsey broke off an 80-yard run to pull the Falcons within 35-14, but they couldn’t get any closer.

Booker matched Ramsey with 145 yards, but he had four scores.

“Six region games left,” Rice said. “We will come out Monday and work hard on getting better. The kids are playing hard for four quarters. They have been through a lot. We are close and the players know that, but we just can’t make mistakes. We aren’t built to withstand a lot of adversity.”

Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott

Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.