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Late surge foils Knights unbeaten status

Turnabout is fair play

By Mike Zima Correspondent
Posted 9/15/21

OAKLEAF– A week after Oakleaf overcame a 16 point deficit to stun Miami Carol City, Lake City Columbia rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to defeat host Oakleaf 27-23 in a …

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Late surge foils Knights unbeaten status

Turnabout is fair play


Posted

OAKLEAF– A week after Oakleaf overcame a 16 point deficit to stun Miami Carol City, Lake City Columbia rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to defeat host Oakleaf 27-23 in a non-district game on September 10.

The Tigers comeback knocked Oakleaf, now 2-1, from the ranks of the unbeaten.

“There are a million woulda, coulda, shouldas,” said Oakleaf head coach Frank Garis after the game. “We are going to watch the film and kick ourselves.”

The Knights made their share of mistakes, but ultimately it was the failure to stop Columbia’s passing game that led to defeat. Oakleaf’s young secondary, which starts two freshman and a sophomore, was no match for the Columbia quarterback duo of Kade Jackson, who passed for 390 yards and two touchdowns, and backup Evan Umstead, who added 47 passing yards and one touchdown.

“Our eyes were not where they were supposed to be,” said Garis. “Knowing whether you are in zone or man-to-man and whether you should be watching the quarterback or the receiver.”

Columbia’s Marcus Peterson, committed to the University of Cincinnati, caught 10 passes for 145 yards and two scores, while Tray Tolliver, Jace Hoskey, Keeven Young and Tony Fulton all had four receptions.

The Oakleaf secondary might have benefitted from a potent pash rush, but Oakleaf had just one sack on 48 Tigers pass attempts.

The Knights got off to a hot start, marching 67 yards in 10 plays on the game’s opening possession, a drive capped by Drew Ammon’s fade route to Taylor Bradshaw from 18 yards out. Ammon was four for four on the drive, which took less than three minutes.

Columbia responded with a crisp 80 yard drive culminating in a 27 yard scoring toss from Jackson to Peterson, who caught the ball despite being interfered with on the play. Rolando Dominguez was wide left on his point after attempt, leaving Oakleaf in front 7-6.

The Tigers took the lead on a nine yard run by Jaelin Brown that punctuated an 82 yard drive midway through the second quarter, but the Knights took advantage of a Columbia miscue to regain the lead at halftime. A punt snap to Peterson was high, throwing off the timing of his kick and forcing the senior to run. Oakleaf linebacker Korey Huff tackled Peterson well short of the first down, giving the Knights possession at the Tigers 27 yard line. From there, a pass interference penalty against Columbia brought the ball to the 13. On third down from the eight, Ammon teamed up with Bradshaw on another fade. The junior timed his jump perfectly to rise above Columbia cornerback Jerome Carter.

Bradshaw, who has established himself as the Knights’ top receiver, finished with nine catches for 107 yards.

“He is playing really well,” Garis said of his junior wideout. “He does a great job of decision-making on choice routes, and he can run by people.”

A two-point conversion attempt failed when Ammon’s pass intended for Rae Murray was broken up. The Knights led 13-12 at the break despite being outgained 267-152 in total offense.

The momentum that turned in the Knights’ favor with the botched Columbia punt stayed with them in the third quarter. Murray went up over double coverage to catch a 39 yard bomb. Two plays later, Isaiah “Shevy” Shevchook ran through a crease up the middle for 18 yards and a touchdown, dragging Tigers safety Kani Fulton with him for the final six. Ammon’s point after put the hosts ahead 20-12.

Shevchook, the hero in Oakleaf’s thrilling win over Carol City, rushed for 128 yards on 33 carries.

A 26 yard field goal by Ammon pushed Oakleaf’s advantage to 23-12 with 10:46 remaining.

That is when things started to unravel for Oakleaf. An interception by Knights cornerback Dylan Stubbs on the ensuing Columbia possession was negated by a roughing the passer penalty that moved the ball to midfield. Umstead, subbing for an injured Jackson, kept the drive alive with a 10 yard slant pass to Tolliver on a fourth and five and then found Peterson in stride up the left sideline for an 18 yard touchdown. Peterson hauled in a pass in the near corner of the end zone for a two-point conversion to cut the Oakleaf lead to 23-20 with 7:43 remaining.

After an Oakleaf punt and a personal foul called against the Knights, the Tigers began their next drive on their own 32 yard line. Jackson rolled right and found Hoskey streaking across the middle of the field. Hoskey evaded a tackler coming at him from the opposite direction, outran Stubbs’s pursuit angle and went up the sideline for 55 yards and a touchdown. The extra point by Dominguez gave the Tigers a 27-23 lead with 4:33 on the clock.

Stubbs’ 53 yard return to the Tigers 28 yard line on the ensuing kickoff gave the Knights a golden opportunity to regain the lead, but Shevchook was tackled for a loss on fourth and two from the 20.

The Oakleaf defense forced a three and out, giving the Knights a final chance to pull out the win. But Ammon’s first pass was intercepted by Amare Ferrell on his knees at the Oakleaf 45 with 0:47 left. Murray ran a straight fly pattern, while Ammon threw the ball as if he was expecting Murray to cut or hook up.

“It was a choice route,” explained Garis. “The corner squatted, so Murray ran by him. We just had kind of a miscommunication.”

Garis gave credit to Riley, fellow linebackers Jaden Atteo and Vlad Rosa and cornerback Takoda Brown, who were stout against the run. Oakleaf turned the Tigers away on fourth down twice inside their own ten yard line and twice at their own 23 yard line to keep the game close.

The Knights face another stiff non-district test this Friday in their first true road game of the season, a date with Camden County High School in Kingsland, Georgia.

“We gotta test ourselves,” said Garis. “We want to be battle-tested for district play.”

Columbia, which entered the game ranked eighth in Class 6A, improves to 2-1