By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
COLUMBIA – It was fitting that a championship-level clash between two heavyweight programs should come down to the last play of the game.
And it was Columbia that made that play, a touchdown pass with four seconds left on the clock that propelled the Wildcats to a thrilling 28-21 victory over Poplarville in the Class 4A South State championship game at Walter Payton Field.
Columbia remained undefeated at 14-0 and will play for the 4A state title at noon Dec. 2 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford against defending champion Louisville. Poplarville finished its season 10-4.
“We’ve got a team full of winners,” said Columbia coach Chip Bilderback. “That’s what life is all about. It’s just keep pushing and keep fighting. I’m really proud of the resolve our players played with tonight.”
The Wildcats won it on a 13-yard pass from junior Collin Haney to senior Naji Cain after senior Amarion Fortenberry picked off a pass with 39 seconds left, giving Columbia the ball at the Poplarville 31.
“Naji had been telling me all night that he’s got him, he’s got him,” said Haney. “That last play, I just saw it, and it was there.”
It was a disappointing end to a superior effort for Poplarville, which rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half to pull even in the fourth quarter.
“They left it all out on the field tonight,” said Poplarville coach Jay Beech. “Through injury, sickness, man, as a coach you’ve got to walk away from this game feeling real proud of your kids, very happy about their performance.”
The Hornets started out doing what they wanted offensively, controlling the ball and eating up the clock. Poplarville used up almost half of the first quarter on its first possession, but ultimately had to punt.
However, the Hornets got the ball right back when senior Lawrence Jamison picked a pass to stop the Wildcats in Poplarville territory.
“They have some pretty good D-1 receivers,” said Jamison. “But, you know, D-1s, stars, it means nothing to us. It’s all about competitiveness and being as tough as they are.
“They came out on top tonight, but it was a hard-fought battle. I’m proud of my guys. They fought to the very last whistle, it just wasn’t the outcome we wanted.”
The Wildcats returned the favor, though, as senior Jeremiah Foxworth swiped a pass at the Hornet 15 and motor down the sideline for what appeared to be an 85-yard pick-six.
However, Columbia was called for a block in the back, and the ball was placed at the Wildcat 40. No matter, as the Wildcats drove for a touchdown anyway, covering the 60 yard in nine plays, with Fortenberry scoring on a 32-yard scamper off right guard.
“I wish I could take away some of the things I did,” said Beech. “But as far as the kids go, they laid it all out on the line.”
Poplarville responded with a scoring drive of its own, moving 74 yards on 11 plays. The Hornets settled for a field goal after being stopped at the Wildcat 9, but Columbia was flagged for roughing the kicker, and Beech elected to take the three points off the scoreboard.
Senior Lane Amacker made that decision pay off on the next play, dashing over left tackle for a 4-yard touchdown to tie the game 7-7 with 1:52 left in the first half. Amacker led the Hornets with 84 yards on 12 carries.
“They were playing one extra player on right side of the field, so we were trying to get the ball away from that side,” said Amacker. “Really, the game plan was just to run as hard as we could all night, go toe-to-toe with them and see what they’ve got.”
Columbia showed its big-play ability on the ensuing possession, moving 64 yard on just six plays. Haney converted passes of 17 yards to junior A.J. Lewis and 34 yards for Foxworth before Fortenberry got the score on an 8-yard run with 28 seconds left on the half.
“I thought we played well offensively in the first half,” Bilderback said. “Then we got into a pretty good groove and they gave us enough time to score there at the end.
“You give our offense enough opportunities, and we’re going to make plays. We’ve got a lot of explosive receivers, a great quarterback, and we can run a couple of different running backs out there.”
Fortenberry proved a hard man to stop for the Hornets, running 17 times for 135 yards to lead Columbia.
“I always say that without that line, I can’t do anything,” said Fortenberry. “The open up holes, they block their tails off, keep Collin clean in the pocket. We just play for each other like we’re all on the same page.
“I was always taught to run hard, never let the first guy get me down. Every yard matters, especially in a big game like this, for South State”
Columbia appeared poised to take command in the third quarter, driving 46 yards on five plays, with sophomore Tra Lewis scoring on a 9-yard run, giving the Wildcats a 21-7 lead with 3:39 left in the third quarter.
But Jamison responded with the play of the game for Poplarville, taking the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.
“We practice our returns every week, week in and week out,” said Jamison. “We try to perfect them at every point of the game. I saw the crease and had nothing but green grass. I ran it like it was a 40 and went full speed until I got to the end zone.”
Sufficiently aroused, the Hornets got a three-and-out for the only time all night, and got the ball back at their own 45 after a short punt.
Poplarville used a 24-yard pass from junior Sidney Blackmon to Amacker to the Wildcat 12, and Blackmon got the score on fourth down with a 3-yard run, tying it up 21-21 with 8:33 to play.
“I feel like we played pretty well defensively,” said Bilderback. “We only gave up two touchdowns, and to hold their offense to that is really good.”
Columbia took a page out of Poplarville’s playbook with the next possession, using up more than six minutes and driving as far as the Hornet 7 before a holding call and a procedure penalty moved the Wildcats back to the 20 yard-line.
On third-and-goal, Haney’s pass was knocked away by Jamison, then senior Landon Reinike swatted away the fourth-down pass.
With 2:09 on the clock, the Hornets had time to drive down the field, but they were without freshman tailback Tylan Keys, who suffered an injury in the second half and did not play in the fourth quarter. He was held to 49 yards on 16 carries.
Poplarville tried the same pass play to Amacker that had worked earlier, but this time Fortenberry read it and picked off the pass at the Hornet 46 and returned the theft to the Hornet 31.
“Earlier in the game, they got me with the same play,” said Fortenberry. “We knew it was coming down to the wire, where they had to pass to get the ball down the field. I just stayed in my zone like my coaches taught me, and went up and got the ball.”
The Hornets threw the ball more than they normally do, 11 times, but only completed three of those passes against the speedy Wildcat secondary.
“Their safeties and their secondary are so active in the run game, that if you don’t throw the ball on them, they’ll come out and stuff you,” said Beech. “So we needed to take some shots to back them off and help our run game.
“We had confidence in our quarterback, he’s played great for us all year and he made some good throws. I wish I could take that last one back and just get to overtime. But you’ve got to take some risks against a defense as good as Columbia’s.”
The Hornets got a sack for a 7-yard loss, but Haney and Foxworth hooked up for a 25-yard pickup to the 13 with 14 seconds on the clock.
The Hornets knocked away the first pass, but Cain got behind the secondary on the next play, and Haney put the ball right on the money for the score.
“That’s my best route,” said Cain. “I knew it was going to be open. I knew they couldn’t guard me on that play. Collin gave me a great ball and I looked it in. Poplarville put up a great game, but that was a great catch.
“They had a good two-high look, sometimes they had a cover-one, but that call, it couldn’t have been better. The safety went to the right and I went to the left and it was open.”
Haney finished the night 11 of 19 passing for 157 yards.
“Poplarville, they’re a really good, hard-nosed football team,” said Haney. “They know how to play football and they know how to play hard. It was just a great game. We’re right where we wanted to be all year.”
Despite the loss, Beech was pleased with the way the season went overall, and he likes what he has coming back next year.
“We’re happy about the direction we’re headed,” Beech said. “Absolutely, we’re feeling great about the next few years.”
Columbia, meanwhile, is headed back to the state finals for the second time in the past three seasons. The Wildcats won their first state title since 1982 two seasons ago, then were upset by Mendenhall in the second round of the playoffs last year.
Louisville is 11-1 in 12 previous trips to the state finals, including last season’s 17-14 thriller over Mendenhall.
“We’re going to work our butts off all week,” said Bilderback. “We’re not just happy to be where we are. We’re going up there to win a state championship. That’s what we’re here for, and that’s the approach we took this week.
“We had wanted to be able to practice on Thanksgiving; that’s the goal we set for ourselves when got put out in the second round last year, and we’re just going to keep on going.”
GAME SUMMARY
Friday at Columbia
Columbia 28, Poplarville 21
Poplarville 0 7 7 7 – 21
Columbia 0 14 7 7 – 28
Second Quarter
C – Amarion Fortenberry 32 run (Luke Davis kick), 6:24 (9 plays/60 yards/4:22 possession).
P – Lane Amacker 4 run (Kyler Boothe kick), 1:52 (11/74/4:32).
C – Fortenberry 4 run (Davis kick), 0:28 (6/64/1:24).
Third Quarter
C – Tra Lewis 9 run (Davis kick), 3:39 (5/46/2:33)
P – Lawrence Jamison 92 kickoff return (Boothe kick), 3:26.
Fourth Quarter
P – Sidney Blackmon 3 run (Boothe kick), 8:33 (10/55/5:26).
C – Collin Haney 13 pass to Naji Cain (Davis kick), 0:04 (5/31/0:35).
TEAM STATISTICS
P C
First downs 14 18
Total net yards 217 318
Rushes-yards 41-183 32-161
Passing yards 34 157
Comp-Att-Int 3-11-2 11-19-1
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 5-40 10-86
Punts-total (avg.) 2-50 (25.0) 1-2 (2.0)
Sacks 1-7 0-0
Third down 7-12 6-9
Fourth down 2-2 0-1
Time of possession 25:48 22:12
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Poplarville – Lane Amacker 12-84, Tylan Keys 16-49, Sidney Blackmon 7-26, Nick Miller 3-13, Tyke Smith 1-11, Lawrence Jamison 1-1, Team 1-(-1); Columbia– Amarion Fortenberry 17-135, Jeremiah Tatum 8-32, Tra Lewis 3-22, Team 1-(-2), Collin Haney 3-(-6).
Passing
Poplarville – Sidney Blackmon 3-9-1-34, Tylan Keys 0-1-0-0, J.T. Robinson 0-1-1-0; Columbia– Collin Haney 11-19-1-157.
Receiving
Poplarville – Lane Amacker 1-24, Tylan Keys 2-10; Columbia– Jeremiah Foxworth 3-85, A.J. Lewis 5-45, Naji Cain 2-21, Amarion Fortenberry 1-6.
Photos courtesy of Nikki Pearson
