Kylin Hill admits his eyes light up when he sees a ball coming in his way on a kickoff.
The Columbus High School junior prides himself on being one of the fastest players in the state.
Kemper County got away with kicking the ball in his direction once Friday night. However, the Wildcats paid dearly after that.
Hill had two 82-yard kickoff return touchdowns in the second half as Columbus poured it on late to pull away to a 49-27 win over Kemper County in the prep football regular season opener for both teams at Falcon Field.
“My heart skips a beat when I see the ball coming,” Hill said. “Then there are times, I have to go get the ball. If it is the general area though I plan to take it in. After that, it is totally on me to make a play.”
Columbus made several plays on offense and in special teams to cruise to a victory. Hill had a 55-yard kickoff return in the first half while everybody was still trying to working the kinks out. In the second half, he singled-handedly expanded a 28-13 halftime lead with two 82-yard kickoff returns for touchdowns. On both kick returns, once the initial wave was passed, there was no chance to get Hill over the final 60 yards or so.
“With Kylin Hill, it takes one step,” Columbus second-year coach Randal Montgomery said. “If you are on defense and you guess wrong, then you really have no chance.”
Fellow junior Kendre Conner rushed 18 times for a team-high 135 yards with three touchdowns. Conner, Hill and junior quarterback. C.J. Gholar give Columbus three dynamic rushing threats out of the backfield.
“I did what I did with a whole lot of help,” Conner said. “I am not going to put it all on me. I just do what I had to do to help my team win. We have some guys who are fast and they can carry the football.”
During a four-win season a year ago, Columbus was done in on many nights by turnovers. In the season opener, Columbus lost one fumble and it was late with the contest well in hand.
“Kendre and Kylin give us one heck of a 1-2 punch,” Montgomery said. “We are going to be riding those guys a lot, every night. They know that. They have grown up, matured and accepted the role of being leaders.
“We have some diversity now and we can do several different things on offense. You saw tonight what we hope to see from these guys on a regular basis.
Columbus scored more than 30 points twice last season. Both of those games — region wins over Greenville and Murrah — took place after Gholar was inserted in the starting lineup as the quarterback. Columbus had not scored 49 points in a game this decade.
“I think there are some good times ahead because we are really growing up as a team,” Hill said. “Kendre and I have speed and we can do different things against the defense. The offensive line really came to play tonight and when they set things up, it makes it easier on the backs.”
Hill was held in check on the ground with six rushes for 22 yards. However, he had 84 yards receiving on four catches, including a 46-yard touchdown on a screen pass. Gholar completed 7-of-10 passes for 116 yards, with touchdowns to Hill and Marquavious Mitchell.
Montgomery knows winning big-time games in Class 6A will require major contributions from the passing game. He also feels like Gholar and his receivers and tight ends can make that happen.
However, on most nights, a strong running game should at least put the Falcons in a position for victory.
“Last year, we had older people on the line,” Conner said. “This year, we had a lot of young guys so we just really had to grow and mature together as a team. We started off against one another. There was fighting. When players messed up, we got on them instead of encouraging them. We just had to mature. All of us did.
“We have a speed, power offense. We just have things to work on and we need to keep better.”
Meanwhile, Hill hopes other teams do not see the film from Friday night. He would prefer more teams sending the ball his way on kickoffs.
“Kick returns are exciting because they get the crowd involved,” Hill said. “But those are open field plays. That is a fun part of football. You see the ball and you know the whole field is wide open. You just have to find that one hole. If I can find that one hole, there is a chance for something good to happen.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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