As soon as the pass slipped through his fingers, Steven Turner sank to his knees.
The Columbus junior wide receiver, unable to secure the slippery football during the third quarter of Friday’s home game against No. 1 West Point, repeatedly slammed his palms down on the sodden turf. When Turner was done visiting his visible frustration upon the mushy gridiron, he got up slowly and made gradual progress off the field.
Turner’s exasperation was understandable. The Falcons trailed the Green Wave 35-0 on their home field, a steady rain continued to fall, and Columbus just couldn’t get anything going.
The Falcons’ frustration was the name of the game Friday night, as Columbus managed just a single score in a 35-6 loss to the top-ranked team in Class 5A. West Point (9-1) scored on its first play from scrimmage, put up all 35 points in the first half and routed the Falcons (3-6) in Friday’s Class 5A, Region 1 game.
“We love conditions like this,” West Point senior running back Dantariyus Cannon said. “Undefeated in the rain. We love rain. Love it.”
Cannon showed that from the very start. Columbus’ Michael Mosley fumbled the opening kickoff back to the Green Wave, and Cannon promptly rushed for a 30-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
“The turnover, the missed assignment, it kind of shocked us real quick,” Columbus coach Joshua Pulphus said.
Six minutes later, Cannon — holding down the fort for Brandon Harris, who’s still dealing with an injury and was held out Friday — shot through the Columbus secondary on his way to a 54-yard rushing score, and West Point pushed its lead to 13-0.
Jimothy Mays had scoring runs of 1 and 6 yards in the second quarter, and Xavier Moody picked off a pass and ran it back for a 30-yard touchdown to stretch the Green Wave lead to 35-0 at the half.
While the rain undoubtedly affected the style of football played Friday, Pulphus was quick to note that it didn’t give West Point any particular advantage.
“The playing field was fair for both teams,” Pulphus said. “They just went and executed; we didn’t.”
West Point coach Chris Chambless prepared his team with wet ball drills so the Green Wave could be prepared for Friday’s mucky conditions, and the practice paid off.
“Our guys kept great focus,” Chambless said. “We got mentally prepared for it, and I thought we did well.”
Neither team suffered any injuries, and the Green Wave emerged with just one turnover, which Chambless said was admirable under the circumstances — playing in the rain may be kind of fun, but the pitfalls are many.
“It gets your juices up, but a lot more stuff can go wrong,” Chambless said. “We handled it really well.”
Pulphus, a former assistant at West Point, said he and Chambless decided not to move the game up to Thursday so both teams could get practice in conditions commonly seen come playoff time.
“It’s good football weather,” Pulphus said. “In December, it gets nasty. In November, it gets nasty. We’ve just gotta be built for it.”
He acknowledged that the Falcons, whose only touchdown was a 16-yard run from senior Jaelan Craddieth in the third quarter, aren’t on West Point’s level just yet. It’s where Pulphus wants to be, and he thinks Columbus is getting there.
“Those kids, just to see where those kids are at West Point and see how my kids are coming along, I can be nothing but proud for my boys,” he said. “We’ve come a long way.”
The Falcons have won three games, including two district contests, after a winless 2018 season, and they’ve got a shot at making the playoffs should they win their final two games.
“We’re gonna continue fighting,” Pulphus said. “The end goal is to get to the playoffs, but we can’t worry about that. We gotta do our best.”
Craddieth, with just two more games remaining in his Columbus career, knows the Falcons are prepared to do just that.
“We’re gonna come back next week better,” he vowed. “You’re gonna see a better team.”
West Point 35, Columbus 6
West Point 13 22 0 0 — 35
Columbus 0 0 6 0 — 6
First quarter
10:36 WP — Dantariyus Cannon 30 run (Thomas Robinson kick)
4:59 WP — Cannon 54 run (kick failed)
Second quarter
8:29 WP — Jimothy Mays 6 run (run successful)
2:47 WP — Mays 1 run (kick failed)
1:50 WP — Xavier Moody 30 interception return (run successful)
Third quarter
5:27 C — Jaelan Craddieth 16 run (pass failed)
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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