Columbus builds big leads, holds off Harris County

Columbus High built a lead and then held off a hard-charging Harris County squad, taking a 28-20 win over the Tigers.

The win moved the Blue Devils to 6-2 on the season and secured a winning season for the first time since 2005, but more importantly, the win evened the Region 1-AAAAA record at 2-2 and moved them closer to a playoff berth. Harris County is now 1-2 in region play and 2-5 overall.

Columbus started things by marching 78 yards in a time-eating 15-play drive that took just less than seven minutes. The Devils converted once on third down and twice on fourth down during the drive. That last fourth-down conversion came on a quarterback sneak by Derrick James to the Tigers' 1. The play worked so well, they did it again and James plunged in for the score on the next play.

Ryan Anderson added the point-after and Columbus led 7-0 with 5:06 left in the first period.

"That is what we have wanted to do this year," said Columbus coach Phil Marino.

"We want to control the tempo and run time off the clock and score. We were able to do that in the first half. We made some mistakes in the second half and you have to give Harris County credit, they came back and got themselves back in the game, but we were able to hold them off and we got a big win."

Harris County showed some moxie of its own following the kickoff. The Tigers marched from their own 26 all the way to the Columbus 4.

The drive closed the first quarter and left the visitors with a fourth-and-goal from the 4. Chandler Lott's pass fell incomplete and turned the ball over on downs on the first play of the second quarter.

Columbus then went on its second long march of the night.

Terrance Dixon got the Blue Devils some breathing room with a 36-yard scamper to start the drive. Thirteen plays later Ty Lucas slipped into the end zone from 2 yards out for the score. The drive covered 96 yards and chewed almost seven minutes off the clock for the second time in the half. The Devils would carry that lead into the half.

Harris County moved the ball on its first three plays of the second half, but a fumble gave the ball to Columbus with good field position in Tiger territory. The Blue Devils did not let the gift go unappreciated.

James capped the 30-yard drive by sneaking in from the 1 for the second time in the game and Anderson's kick gave Columbus a 21-0 lead with 6:51 to play in the third.

The Tigers wasted no time in erasing the zero on their side of the board. It took all of 27 seconds for the visitors to get into the end zone. James Adam returned the kickoff 70 yards to the Columbus 18, and two straight carries by T.J. Chiles netted a touchdown, the last coming from 4 yards away.

The extra point try was blocked and the lead was trimmed to 21-6 with 6:24 left in the third.

The Tiger momentum carried over to the defense as Harris County kept Columbus at bay and had the Blue Devils in a hole at third-and-18 from their own 29. Essang Bassey then gave a lesson on digging out of a hole as he took a sweep toss and raced 71 yards in what seemed like the blink of an eye. The touchdown gave the Devils a 28-6 lead with 3:33 left in the third period.

Harris County then mounted its comeback. The Tigers marched 80 yards in nine plays to cut the margin to 28-13. A 25-yard pass from Lott to Josh Stein got the score as Stein went airborne for the final 3 yards over a Columbus defender. Matthew Crumbly's kick was good to trim the margin to 15 with just less than a minute left in the third quarter.

An interception of Columbus backup QB Brandon Maple on the next Columbus possession gave the ball back to the Tigers. Juan O'Neal got the pick of Maple, who was in the game replacing Derrick James who left with a leg issue akin to a cramp.

Starting at their 14 on the drive, the Tigers began to mix in more passing to compliment their running game and it worked well. The big play of the drive was a hook-and-lateral play that covered 33 yards and got Harris County to the Columbus five. Three plays later, Bubba Blackmon ran in from two yards out and the Matthew Crumbly kick made it 28-20 with 5:50 to play.

The Tigers would get the ball back with 1:19 left in the game with one last chance to try and tie it. However a big sack by Ty Lucas and a Bassey interception ended all hope for Harris County and secured the win for the Blue Devils.

Bassey finished the night for Columbus with 13 carries for 140 yards and a touchdown. He also caught one pass for 12 yards and had the big interception late. James rushed for 81 yards on nine carries before leaving with the leg issue midway through the third quarter. He had two touchdowns.

Blackmon led Harris County with 93 yards on 14 carries and a pair of scores.

Columbus squares off with region co-leader and cross-town rival Northside next Friday at Kinnett, while Harris County hosts Carver in Hamilton.

Friday at Kinnett Stadium

Harris 0 0 13 7--20

Columbus 7 7 14 0--28

First Quarter

C-Derrick James 1 run (Ryan Anderson kick), 5:06

Second Quarter

C--Ty Lucas 2 run (Anderson kick), 5:12

Third Quarter

C--James 1 run (Anderson kick), 6:51

HC--TJ Chiles 4 run (kick failed), 6:24

C--Essang Bassey 71 run (Anderson kick), 3:33

HC--Josh Stein 25 pass from Chandler Lott (Matthew Crumbley kick), 0:57

Fourth Quarter

HC--Bubba Blackmon 2 run (Crumbley kick), 5:50

Team records: Harris County 2-5, 1-2 Region 1-AAAAA. Columbus 6-2, 2-2. Next: Harris County, home vs. Carver, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. Columbus, vs. Northside, Kinnett, 7:30 p.m.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Columbus builds big leads, holds off Harris County ."