Another dominant rushing performance propelled Columbus football to their second-straight win Friday night, as they spoiled the Highland homecoming game 55-0.
In the Week 5 edition of the KCII Area Game of the Week, Kaden Amigon wasted no time getting the Wildcats ahead, running the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. Trailing just 10 seconds into the game, the Husky offense looked poised to march down the field to tie, as Sage Hartley-Norman connected with Logan McFarland on a pass and catch for 25 yards. The nine-play, 46-yard drive would stall in Wildcat territory however with a turnover-on-downs. On their first offensive possession, a Columbus team that has been explosive all season did more of the same, needing just two plays to find the endzone. This time, it was a 60-yard burst from Riley Kaalberg. Two-consecutive Highland punts gave the Wildcats a short field, and they were able to cash in on both. Amigon added his second and third touchdowns of the night to put Columbus up 27-0 after one quarter.
Columbus continued their dominance, scoring on their first two touches in the second quarter, as Amigon and Kaalberg each notched another touchdown. Meanwhile a pass-heavy Husky offense struggled to move the ball the rest of the half, limited to just 92 yards. This changed in the third quarter as Highland opened up with an 11-play drive that had them inside the redzone. An Elliot Wessley interception spoiled the Husky scoring opportunity, and gave the ball back to Columbus. Capping off one of their lengthier drives, Cole Storm ran 25 yards to the house on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
A 33-yard catch from Jack Peiffer, along with two defensive penalties from the Wildcats had Highland knocking on the door on their next possession, but once again, the Columbus defense forced a red-zone turnover. Now backed inside their own five, Kaalberg provided the exclamation point with a 97-yard touchdown run, the longest of the season for the Wildcats.
In total, Columbus needed just 25 plays to gain 493 yards, while their defense held the Huskies to 193. Quarterback Trevor Phillips completed passes when he needed to, finishing 6/7 for 70 yards. Kaalberg led all rushers with 247 yards and three scores on just six carries and Amigon added 149 yards with four total touchdowns.
Highland ran 55 plays on the night, attempting 39 passes. Hartley-Norman completed 14 for 144 yards. McFarland was the beneficiary on half of them, finishing with 86 receiving yards. The Husky passing attack also included Jose Ramirez and Remington Fields. Colten Sypherd earned the longest rush of the night for Highland, stiff-arming multiple Wildcat defenders for 17 yards late in the game.
Columbus, now 3-2, gets ready to host Louisa-Muscatine next Friday in their homecoming game while Highland heads to Pekin.