Carver falls behind early, then roars back against Columbus

After falling behind 17-7, the Carver Tigers scored 28 unanswered points en route to a 42-24 win over Region 1-4A rival Columbus at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

Once the Blue Devils made it a double-digit lead off the foot of kicker Patrick Kitchens with a 39-yard field goal, the Tiger offense awoke.

“I don’t think we underestimated them. They came out on fire,” said Cameron Jessie, who scored a touchdown in the contest. “It was a great win.”

Both teams played a physical game that turned chippy at times, with several unsportsmanlike conduct flags thrown, especially in the second half.

“We were trying to play a little more disciplined,” Jessie said. “It was emotional with the flags, but we have to work on the little stuff.”

Head coach Dre’Mail King had stronger sentiments.

“It was a very, very sloppy game,” King said. “We allowed some things in that game to affect our character and our emotions. I’m very happy we got the win, the guys did a good job making sure we finish the game, but that’s definitely not Carver football.

“We’ve done a good job throughout the year controlling that, and for some weird reason, we let that get to us. It was outside our character.”

Carver improved to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in Region 1-4A. It is tied with Northside and Americus-Sumter for second place in the region. Columbus is 3-5 and 2-3.

After Columbus finally stopped the Carver run with a David Galloway touchdown run, the Tigers re-established themselves on the very next play with a Jacobi Cunningham 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

“It’s the small things. Once we’re rolling, we’re rolling,” said Carver quarterback Romello Kimbrough.

“Right now, we’re still trying to fine tune everyone, making sure they’re in the right place,” King said. “It’s a good thing when we are able to put guys in different places, learning different positions. Once everyone gets on all cylinders, we’ll be exactly where we want to be, but right now we’re still developing and they’re still learning.”

Columbus head coach Phil Marino acknowledged the success in the first half but lamented the turnovers that has plagued his Blue Devils in their losses.

“We just need to be patient running the football,” Marino said. “We were hitting our blocks, and we were getting our assignments. We were moving the ball down the field like we’re supposed to, but like in all our losses, we just turn around and give the ball back. We made mistakes, we had turnovers, and those kind of things beat us. That’s part of the reason for the losses we have. When you play a team that’s talented and good, you just can’t do that. Those first few drives, that’s exactly what we wanted to do.”

Both teams continue region play next week. Carver hosts Americus-Sumter at Kinnett Stadium Thursday, while Columbus travels to Cairo on Friday.

“We have an early game this week, so we get back out there practicing Sunday and just doing what we’re doing,” King said. “One thing I can say about these guys, they’re getting better every week.”

“We’ve got Cairo. They’re ranked fifth in the state,” Marino said. “We just have to go down there and believe in ourselves. They’re not unbeatable. We’ll go down there, play hard, and see if we can steal ourselves a win down there.

“We told our kids we’re not out of this yet.”

Key play: With Columbus up 17-14 and threatening again, Carver linebacker A.J. LaGrand intercepted a Caleb Bailey pass and took it 66 yards to the Blue Devil five-yard line. LaGrand fumbled, but Cameron Ashe picked it up and took it the rest of the way to give the Tigers the lead for good in the contest.

Difference makers: Columbus – Terrance Dixon, RB, 6 rushes, 44 yards, TD; Donnie Dawson, RB, 5 rushes, 27 yards, TD; Carver – Cameron Jessie, RB, 9 rushes, 39 yards, TD; Romello Kimbrough, QB, 9 rushes, 42 yards, TD; 179 yards passing, TD.

Coach quote: “I just got here in March. New system, new coaching staff, new everything. They’re still learning and getting better and better. The schedule wasn’t favorable for us, but we’re doing a good job of working with it. I’m very happy where we are. We’re turning on at the right time. We’ll be OK,” said Carver coach Dre’Mail King.

Player quote: “Practice. It starts at practice. We’ve got to stay focused as a team and start leading more,” said Carver running back Cameron Jessie.

This story was originally published October 21, 2016 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Carver falls behind early, then roars back against Columbus."