MADISON — For the 21-member Columbus High School football senior class, the end of their careers happened in heart-breaking fashion.
However, the ending wasn’t unexpected because the Falcons had seen this script so many times this season.
Madison Central erased a 10-point third-quarter deficit to take a 28-25 victory against Columbus before a sparse crowd at Jaguar Stadium in the opening round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A playoffs.
Kylin Hill scored his third touchdown with eight seconds left in regulation. C.J. Gholar then ran for a two-point conversion. Michael McCloud recovered an onside kick and Gholar had a pass toward the end zone from the Madison Central 42-yard line. The Falcons even had a timeout if the pass was completed in bounds, but the ball fell to the turf and the clock ran out despite a full second being on it when the ball hit the ground.
“We needed one more second,” Columbus third-year coach Randal Montgomery said. “Clearly, we should have had one more play. That isn’t what beat us. But it was a fitting way to end the season. We just seemed to always need one more second, one more play.”
Columbus finished 6-6. The senor class won 18 games in the past three seasons and advanced to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. A talented junior high class will be charged with getting the program a playoff win for the first time since 2005.
“It was hard to put it all together,” Gholar said. “Our margin for error was small. Every play mattered in our season. It was a strange ride but a fun ride. We were able to accomplish a lot of things together.”
The Columbus defense was last seen giving up 47 points in a regular-season victory against Hernando. The Falcons had to win by 11 or more in that game to earn the region’s three seed and scored 60 points to do just that.
On Friday night, the Columbus defense forced a punt on five of Madison Central’s six first-half possessions. Chris Taylor drilled a 37-yard field goal and Hill’s first touchdown gave the Falcons a 10-7 lead at halftime.
On the first play of the third quarter, the Falcons ran the wildcat formation for the first time this season. Hill took the direct snap and rambled 66 yards for the touchdown. Suddenly, the road underdog had a 17-7 lead.
“Our best defensive half of football in quite some time,” Montgomery said. “At halftime, we told the kids we were getting the ball first (in the second half) and we needed to have our best drive of the season. Well, it took only one play. However, we were in really good shape. Every aspect of the game had gone our way and then things changed.”
In the space of less than 13 minutes of playing time, Madison Central (8-3-1) scored on three-straight possessions as Columbus’ defense reverted to some of its old ways.
“There is little doubt we played our hearts out,” Columbus senior defensive lineman Tahj Sykes said. “We played with pride and passion and left it on the field. It’s disappointing the game turned like that.”
Madison Central’s first score of the second half came on a third-and-3. The second score came after a critical pass interference call extended a drive at midfield. The touchdown came on third-and-17 from the Columbus 46-yard line. The third score came after Madison Central converted two third-and-6 plays on a 64-yard march.
“We had the worst conversion rate on defense on third-and-long plays of anyone in the country,” Montgomery said. “It killed us all season.”
Columbus lost five times by nine points or less. In four of those five defeats, Columbus had a third-quarter lead, and twice it had a fourth-quarter lead.
“It was a strange season in that we really didn’t have a lot of breaks,” Montgomery said. “A good football team causes some of the breaks that it needs. We just couldn’t do that. We couldn’t take that final step.”
Hill rushed for 262 yards and three touchdowns in his final high school game. For the season, the Mississippi State commit rushed for 1,750 yards and 23 touchdowns (27 total). He finished his career with right at 4,000 rushing yards.
“The seniors will always be a part of the building of this program,” Montgomery said. “They came in a time when the program was struggling. They bought in as 10th-graders. They competed and believed at a time when the program was full of adversity. This type of game would have gotten way out of hand when we got here.
“On this night, we have a last-second chance to score a touchdown or kick a game-tying field goal. That is a statement of how far we have come. Despite any deficiencies, this team played hard for four quarters. This senior class always did that. They always gave their absolute best. On some nights, we weren’t good enough. You could never question the belief, the attitude, the pride, the swagger. Now, we take that and build this up some more.”
The Falcons made a slow exit from the field. A large group of fans gave the team a standing ovation outside of the locker room. On this night, Columbus fans were on equal par and perhaps even outnumbered the home team’s fans, despite a two-hour, 30-minute drive.
As the seniors gave one another hugs and cherished the final time in the uniform, one could see clearly the family Montgomery has built.
“It was an incredible run,” Hill said. “We had a lot of fun together.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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