Columbia Football Falls to 1-3

Things did not go very well for the Columbia football team on Saturday afternoon in West Orange. The Cougars, who were looking to get to .500 with a win against the Mountaineers, were blanked and blown out, 54-0.

"I didn't know what to say to the kids about it. I told them that I wasn't happy about it," said CHS head coach Eugene Kline. "I don't think that West Orange was 54-0 better than us. I'm not saying that we're good, but they aren't that much better than us."

The previously winless Mountaineers did not take very long to take control of the game. After a Columbia three and out to open the game, Jasaan Elay set West Orange up with a first and 10 at Columbia's 15-yard-line. On the ensuing play, Lance Smith scored the first of his two touchdowns on a run to the left with 9:34 left in the opening quarter.

Columbia's offense gained three yards in their next drive and were forced to punt the ball back to West Orange, which scored two plays later. Quarterback Austin Vanderhoof hooked up with Terrence Russell for a 51-yard td strike on a throw across the middle.

West Orange's offense exploded on Saturday, gaining 249 yards on the ground and nearly 500 yards of total offense. Vanderhoof threw four touchdown passes and 224 yards, while Smith put up 158 yards rushing up just 11 carries. Overall, West Orange's offense produced seven touchdowns and averaged nearly 12 yards per play. Missed tackles was Columbia's undoing on defense.

"I thought we would be able to contain him a little bit, but he is a great athlete," Kline said of Smith. "This year, I'm not very surprised [about the missed tackles]. This has been something that has concerned me."

The Mountaineer defense was equally as dominant as the offense, holding Columbia to five first downs on 11 offensive drives and 100 total yards. Offensively, Columbia's wide receivers dropped a lot of passes and did not do much to help junior Cougar qb, Deion Hudson, who saw pressure all game long and turned over the ball three times.

"He hit guys in the hands, he hit guys in the chest. Kids short armed the ball, kids dropped the ball. ... Dropped passes has been an issue since I've been at Columbia," Kline said. "Sure he made some bad decisions, sure he made some horrible reads, but he can't do it all by himself."

Despite the lopsided score, there were a few times where Columbia was still in the game and had a chance to maybe get some momentum going, but just couldn't.

With the Mountaineers up 13-0 and starting a drive at their own 35 with 33 seconds left to play in the first quarter, Vanderhoof fumbled the snap, allowing Quincy Nieves to recover the ball for Columbia, setting the boys up with a first and 10 in Mountaineer territory. Columbia went three and out, and ended up losing yardage because of a holding penalty. They were forced to punt, and West Orange scored three plays later on an 81-yard touchdown scamper by Smith.

Down 27-0 and clinging to life, the Cougars broke into the red zone for the first time and only time in the game. But on second and 10 at the 20, Hudson was sacked from behind and stripped of the football. West Orange recovered and scored three plays later on a 67 yard catch and run by Russell, putting West Orange up 34-0 with 32 seconds left in the first half.

The Cougars do not get much of a break next week, as they come home to face Seton Hall Prep, which is also 1-3, but traditionally a strong program.