Photo Courtesy of Columbus School District Social Media

The Columbus Wildcats reminded everyone that that they are one of the area’s best Class A football teams by ending district rival Pekin’s undefeated start with a convincing 56-24 victory Friday night. Columbus had complete control from the start, taking a 35-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. Despite the Panthers playing them even on the scoreboard the rest of the way, the Wildcats were always in the driver’s seat.

Columbus ripped off big play after big play on offense. All-state senior Kaden Amigon needed only 10 carries to pile up 164 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow running back Riley Kaalberg scored a TD on three of his first four rushes, and the junior finished with 123 yards on only five carries while also catching two passes for 37 yards and another score.

Sophomore quarterback Trevor Phillips threw another touchdowns, a 46-yard bomb to junior Markell Zapiensz, on his way to passing for a season-high 109 yards. While the Wildcats racked up a whopping 490 yards of offense, they limited Pekin to just over 250 yards and gave up only three touchdowns. Sophomore linebacker Elliot Wessley had a team-high seven tackles and a sack.

Columbus improves to 2-1 in their district and 2-2 overall ahead of facing Highland this Friday. You can hear the Wildcats meet the Huskies in the KCII Area Football Game of the Week starting at 6:30 Friday night on KCIIradio.com.