TUPELO — The Columbus High School football team’s original plan wasn’t available Friday night.
Turns out, the Falcons couldn’t execute the backup plan, either.
As a result, Columbus had to go with a third plan that proved too long a haul against the state’s third-ranked team. The end result was a 44-0 loss to Tupelo in a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A, Region 1 game at Renasant Bank Field.
“When you play one of the elite teams in the state, you have to have everybody available,” said Columbus coach Randal Montgomery, whose team had its two-game winning streak snapped. “You have to have everyone here and you also have to have everyone play at a high level. This went pretty much like we thought it would go tonight. We were in a difficult spot.”
Columbus junior quarterback Laterius Stowers threw five touchdowns last week in a 34-28 overtime victory against DeSoto Central to start region play. But Stowers strained his shoulder in the second quarter of the game before returning to engineer two game-tying drives. He also threw the winning score.
In the second quarter against DeSoto Central, the Falcons ran some Wildcat formation with senior running back Patrick Jackson taking the snaps. Columbus went back to work on the formation during practice after the medical staff ruled Monday that Stowers would miss the game against
Tupelo.
On Friday afternoon, Jackson became unavailable due to a death in his family.
Sophomore Jaelen Craddeith got his first start against what is considered the state’s best front four.
Tupelo (6-0, 2-0 region) held Columbus (2-4, 1-1) to 106 total yards in its third shutout of the season.
“Jaelen did the best he could considering the circumstances,” Montgomery said. “He is going to be a really good quarterback. Right now, he doesn’t have the full set of plays and really isn’t in a position to do some of the things we needed him to do. I thought the team completed and fought hard. It was just a difficult situation.”
Tupelo didn’t take charge until it scored three times in the second quarter to take a 24-0 halftime lead.
A trick formation allowed defensive lineman and Mississippi State commitment Jett Johnson to plow in from 6 yards on fourth-and-goal for a 10-0 lead. Jaquerrious Williams then broke through for a 53-yard run and added an 8-yard score when a drive was extended by a 40-yard run on a fake punt at midfield.
Tupelo added a touchdown when Peter Gray intercepted a screen pass. Williams added his final score and quarterback Stephon McGlaun hit Sirmarcus Evans for a passing touchdown.
Evans was all over the field for the Golden Wave. He also kick-started another possession with a 52-yard punt return. It actually went the distance but was brought back by flag.
“The defense played well,” Montgomery said. “I think that may get lost in this game. Tupelo had short fields. They like to run the ball and our run defense held up for the most part. It gets discouraging when you can’t answer with offensive drives.”
Isaiah Karriem, Josh Gray, Devon King, and Jaylen Hickman led the defense.
Tupelo was held to 272 yards. One hundred fifteen came on three plays.
Columbus will face Horn Lake (5-0, 2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Falcon Field. Montgomery expects Stowers to be available for the game.
“Earlier in the season, we talked about not letting one game define the season,” Montgomery said, “so we address that here now. A lot of people will lose to Tupelo this season. We get to play another big region game against a good team at home next Friday night. We need to take advantage of that.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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