Photo Courtesy of Columbus School District Social Media

The Columbus Wildcats face one of their toughest tests of the football season tonight when they take on state-ranked and defending district champion Lisbon. Columbus cruised to a 51-14 victory over Wapello last week to bounce back from a season-opening defeat to Mediapolis.

Senior Riley Kaalberg had a huge game against Wapello running the football, piling up 238 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries to raise his season totals to 384 yards and six total offensive TDs.

Junior Tyson Kaalberg has also been a big-play threat with six pass catches for 144 yards and two scores. Riley Kaalberg leads the defense with 16-and-a-half total tackles, while fellow senior Markell Zapiensz has been a disruptive force for the Wildcats with 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Columbus came extremely close to knocking off Lisbon in last year’s meeting, falling 34-28. Behind senior Tiernan Boots’ 318 rushing yards and seven touchdowns and a defense that has not surrendered a single point in two wins this season, the Lions are the fourth-ranked team in the state in Class A.

The Wildcats were able to take down the Lions 49-20 two years ago. Kickoff this evening from Lisbon is at 7 o’clock.