MADISONVILLE — Columbus football kept their postseason train rolling as they took down Woodville High School by a final score of 24-7 Nov. 17 at Madisonville High School’s Mustang Stadium. The Cardinals didn’t score as much as they have throughout the regular season, but they scored enough to come out with a solid win and also did it by stepping up to the plate on defense. “There’s no opportunity for a ‘my bad’ or a second chance,” said Columbus head football coach Matt Schobel on the team’s playoff mindset.
“It’s about going 1-0 on Friday night or whenever the game’s played and find a way to win. We did that tonight. Definitely some things we can clean up. The kids know that. We’ll take a look at some things as a staff we can do better. That’s all of us. We’ll keep working and we’re excited about going to round three.”
Cardinals senior running back Ty’Vone Whitehead had another huge game and found the end zone once again to put his team on top and eventually seal the victory. “My o line’s been a big help,” Whitehead said. “Pulling, blocking, also passing. It opens up my runs for me and I go and hit the holes and try to go score.”
Columbus had a big first half and was able to make some key stops on defense as well as Whitehead found the end zone twice. One score was for 75 yards and one for 21 yards. Junior quar terback and Baylor University football commit Adam Schobel also threw a touchdown to take a 21-7 lead at halftime.
Woodville made a nice drive as time dwindled down in the third quarter and even made it down to the goal line, but the sturdy Cardinals defense made a stop on fourth and two at the 4:08 mark to take over the ball on offense. Neither team scored in the third quarter and Columbus maintained their 21-7 lead.
Columbus made a huge interception at the beginning of the fourth quarter and took the ball down to the goal line themselves after a long throw from Schobel, then Cardinals senior kicker Javier Mendoza gave his team some insurance points with a 25-yard field goal with 6:11 to go to take a 24-7 lead. Columbus ran the ball in the final minutes with White head and would go into victory formation on Woodville’s side of the field to secure a 24-7 win.
