Columbus celebrated Homecoming with a 43-20 win over Louisville in prep football action Friday night.
The Falcons racked up a season-high 414 yards of total offense and presented coach Randal Montgomery with his first victory as coach.
“We finally got the monkey off our shoulders and that’s a very good feeling,” Columbus sophomore running back Kylin Hill said. “We came out and had the best week of practice this past week. Football hadn’t been fun and you really need to be having fun when you play.”
Columbus (1-3) had the fun early. The Falcons scored on their first three offensive possessions and quickly built a 22-0 lead.
Sophomore Kendre Conner led the ground attack with 11 rushes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Hill followed with 11 rushes for 109 yards and two scores. Rod Hogan also had a 32-yard rushing touchdown and a 57-yard kickoff return to set up another score.
Quarterback Jay Jay Swanigan had two rushing touchdowns, while completing 4-of-15 passes for 110 yards with three interceptions.
“We really have been needing something good to happen and I thought it happened tonight,” Montgomery said. “We have not been practicing like an 0-3 team. We began the year wanting to have a winning record and wanting to make the playoffs. All of those goals are still out there and can be met.”
Alex Lipscomb and John Neal Stanback anchored a Columbus defensive unit, which held a shutout until Louisville (2-3) scored 20 points in the final 9 minutes, 54 seconds of play.
Heritage Academy 42, Hillcrest Christian 17: At Columbus, Heritage Academy celebrated its 50th Homecoming with a dominating performance. Michael Ledbetter stole the show. The junior tallied up 202 rushing yards, a punt return TD and an interception against the Cougars. He had five touchdowns. The Patriots opened the night by exploding in the first quarter to a 23-0 lead.
It was a great defensive performance from the Patriots. The defensive line rotated frequently, and were well-rested while constantly pressuring Hillcrest quarterback Mayowa Asuanga. Both touchdowns were let up in the fourth quarter, with many young players on the field for Heritage.
Heritage has a winning record and some confidence heading into next week in West Point against Oak Hill. Head coach Barrett Donahoe said he is anticipating an intense week of practice.
Starkville Academy 27, Magnolia Heights 7: At Starkville, behind a stingy defense performance and 415 rushing yards, Starkville Academy cruised to a win over Magnolia Heights Friday night.
The Volunteers now move to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in MAIS 1-AAA competition, while the Chiefs fall to 4-1 and 1-1 in district play. Both teams were considered to be among the best in their division, but the Vols outplayed Magnolia Heights on both sides of the ball.
Quarterback Houston Clark led the Volunteers with 219 yards rushing and one touchdown. Junior Drake Gordman ran for 59 yards and two touchdowns.
New Hope 34, Amory 13: At Columbus, Brenton Spann scored two touchdowns and New Hope built an early lead on the way to a big win over Amory.
Spann scored on runs of 14 and 73 yards, cracking 100 yards for the fourth straight game.
New Hope moved to 4-0 ahead of region play next week. The Trojans held a 21-0 lead after running just two offensive plays (Spann’s scoring runs).
Jeremy Newton returned an interception 35 yards for a score, one of two Trojans’ picks on the night.
French Camp 28, West Lowndes 14 At Columbus, in what was a defensive battle for three quarters, the West Lowndes Panthers were plagued by two costly fourth quarter turnovers, which were both returned for touchdowns, that ultimately cost them the game against French Camp Academy.
The Panthers had seven penalties and committed four turnovers in the game which resulted in 21 points. The team also had a difficult time establishing their running game, compiling a total of only 42 yards as a team on the ground.
Despite the bad running game, The Panthers were able to have some success through the air. Senior wide receiver Josh King hauled in four catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns to lead all receivers in the game.
West Point 33, Noxubee County 19: At West Point, the Green Wave (3-2) rebounded from getting stuffed on the 1/2-yard line on the opening possession of the second half to score 19 unanswered points in their victory against the Tigers (3-2) at McCallister Field.
Quincy Starks (17 carries, 82 yards) scored on runs of 10 and 46 in the second half to help West Point regroup after a sluggish first half in which it rushed for only 9 yards. The Green Wave stuck to their ground attack and piled up 188 yards on 26 carries to wear down Noxubee County.
Timorrius Conner had two touchdown passes, but he was only 14 of 35 for 143 yards and an interception for Noxubee County. The Tigers had 19 carries for -33 yards rushing.
Elsewhere in the area, top-ranked Starkville won its huge out-of-state showdown with Florence (Ala.) 37-7 Friday night in a game played on the University of North Alabama campus. The top-ranked Yellow Jackets are now 4-0.
For complete game coverage from Friday night, see Sunday’s Dispatch.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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