Play until you hear the whistle.
It sounds simple, but sometimes observant players get rewarded for capitalizing when unusual things happen.
Damian Baker’s diligence proved to be just the spark the Columbus High School football team needed Friday night.
Baker bounced back up after he landed on top of a Horn Lake tackler and raced untouched to complete a 70-yard touchdown run that propelled Columbus to a 41-21 victory in a Class 6A, Region 1 game.
“I fell on his stomach and I didn’t feel the ground and I didn’t hear that whistle, so I got back up and started running,” Baker said. “I didn’t hear that whistle, so I wasn’t going to stop moving.”
Baker, a senior running back who earlier this week was named to the roster of the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star game, rushed 31 times for 226 yards and two scores to help Columbus (6-3, 3-2 region) remain in the hunt for a playoff berth. Columbus’ win coupled with South Panola’s victory against Southaven helped it move into third place in the region. It holds the tiebreaker with Tupelo and is one game ahead of Horn Lake and Southaven. The top four teams in the region will advance to the playoffs, while the top two will play host to first-round games.
Columbus still has work to do, though. It plays at Olive Branch next week before returning home to play Grenada in its regular season finale.
It was evident from Baker’s hard running that he understands the importance of games at this time of the year. Victories in October take on added meaning for a senior who hasn’t been to the playoffs in his high school career. That’s part of the motivation behind the hard-charging 5-foot-9, 170-pound dynamo who plays much bigger than what it says on the roster.
After the game, Columbus coach Tony Stanford told his players in the team huddle that probably was the best game he has seen Baker play. He echoed those thoughts in the locker room.
“It was tremendous. He was hard-nosed and ran it downhill all night,” Stanford said. “When we needed a play, he made it. When they tied it up, he probably made the most miraculous play I have seen in a while. I can’t believe he knew to keep running when once he came back up.”
Baker’s run re-energized Columbus, which led 14-0 and 21-7 only to see Horn Lake (6-3, 2-3) tie the game on a hook-and-lateral pass play from quarterback Josh Cooley to Chris Lantrip, who lateraled the football to Antwain Smith for the tying score with 12 seconds left in the quarter.
The backbreaker came less than four seconds later, as Baker burst through the middle on an 11-yard gain. He was wrapped up and brought down around the 41-yard line but landed on a Horn Lake player. While everyone else stopped, Baker jumped to life and ran to paydirt.
“It was a big momentum shift,” Baker said. “It got our defense back going and we ended up with the victory.”
Cedrick Jackson scored on an 8-yard touchdown run on Columbus’ next possession. He found Deontae Jones on the conversion pass to extend the lead to 35-21 with 7 minutes, 4 seconds.
Columbus then stopped Horn Lake on fourth down on the next series and exhausted nearly all of the clock on the ensuing drive.
Byerson Cockrell intercepted Cooley and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown as time expired for the final margin.
Stanford praised Horn Lake for mixing Cooley’s passing and the running of Justin Kindred. He was even prouder of his offensive line for helping the Falcons pound out 314 rushing yards and Baker for keeping his wits and helping to re-ignite Columbus’ fire.
“One of the referees told me, ‘I need to see that on ESPN tomorrow,’ ” Stanford said.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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