Capitals' second half grounds Falcons
By Michael Orr

Columbia's Chris Payne tries to run over A.C. Flora's Terry Cherry(l) and Eric Sephes while Conor Hozey (#6) and Hayden Gamarra (#21) give chase.

Columbia High School withstood a brutal first half and a barrage of penalties to outlast A.C. Flora Friday, August 17, 18- 7. While the crowd and early goings certainly favored the visiting Falcons, the Capitals relied on the trusted legs of senior tailback Cedric Jeffcoat, who rushed for 161 yards, and a strong defensive effort to win their second game of the young season.
A.C. Flora 7
Columbia 18

Having defeated Calhoun Falls 47-6 in their opener, Columbia entered the game confidently. A disastrous first quarter, however, would drain the life out of the Capitals. A.C. Flora ran the ball with relative ease behind behemoth linemen Kenneth Page and Larry Patterson, largely in the hands of senior tailback Otis Praylow. The Falcons ran most of their first quarter plays from either three or four wide receiver sets, a far cry from their expected double- wing formation.

When the Capitals finally got the ball nearly seven minutes into the game, senior quarterback Justin Payne was promptly intercepted by A.C. Flora senior Eric Sephes, putting the Columbia defense back on the field. While the defense did lay some heavy hits on the Falcons offense, particularly in a blast from sophomore end Mychal Brown, Columbia suffered from a pair of muffed punts and growing fatigue.

A.C. Flora's Thanos Harley (#27) and Elliott Richardson try to tackle Columbia's Cedric Jeffcoat. Jeffcoat rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns.

A.C. Flora finally missed a field goal with 38 seconds remaining in the quarter giving the Capitals defense some measure of relief and leaving the game scoreless through the first quarter.

The majority of the second quarter was a struggle between two teams trying to establish themselves in the ground game. Each team suffered a number of penalties, and neither team was able to gain much ground on the other. Finally, the Falcons emerged from the attrition using their double- wing formation and misdirection to confuse the Caps defense.

Junior Carlos McCoy, in particular, was successful as A.C. Flora slowly moved downfield. Having reached the one yard line, the Falcons were stymied twice at the goal line with straight- ahead runs. Coach Robin Bacon called a gutsy play- action pass on third down which sophomore quarterback Drew Desmond completed to his senior tight end Adger Rice who was falling down in the back of the endzone. Tacking on the extra point gave the Falcons the lead going into the half, 7- 0.

While giving up late- half scores often demoralize a team, Columbia came out in the second half with renewed confidence. Repeatedly handing the ball to Cedric Jeffcoat, Coach Kemper Amick's Capitals took control of the clock much in the same way A.C. Flora had in the first quarter.

After marching down the field, the Capitals faced a fourth down and two from the Falcons 17 yard line. Amick went to his bread and butter as Jeffcoat drove through the right side of the line and into the clear, covering the remaining 15 yards untouched and into the endzone with 5:41 left in the third. Columbia attempted a pass on a higharching fade for a 2- point conversion try, but it fell incomplete leaving the score 7- 6 in favor of the Falcons.

In the fourth quarter, Columbia used a combination of runs from Jeffcoat, Chris Payne, and quarterback Justin Payne to methodically move down the field. With two key passes, one to Tim Taylor and the other to Terrell Hunter, the Capitals were able to catch the Falcons off guard and extend the field.

Payne was an efficient 4- 6 for 79 yards in the game. Taking advantage of two personal fouls on the Falcons defense, Columbia moved to the one yard line, and Jeffcoat powered through the line for his second touchdown. Jeffcoat was stopped on the 2- point conversion try and the score remained 12- 7.

Columbia stopped A.C. Flora from gaining much ground and forced a punt with 6:14 remaining. Running off the clock as well as they could, the Capitals were forced into a fourth down and two with 4:16 to play. After a pair of timeouts and some injury stoppage for a cramping Chris Payne, the Caps watched as the chain crew measured out their fourth down run. The tip of the ball extended just far enough to give Columbia the first down and the game. With another personal foul on the Falcons and determined running, the Capitals reached the goal line with just over a minute left. Justin Payne lunged across the goal line putting the game out of reach. Coach Amick ordered his quarterback to take a knee on the 2- point try, keeping the score at 18- 7.

The Falcons will look to rebound from their tough second half playing at Mid- Carolina on Friday, August 31. Columbia will take their 2- 0 record to Dreher, who stands at 0- 1. Photos by Morgen Young