Columbia (Lake City) pitches shutout on Hillsborough (Tampa) in first-ever meeting of two storied programs

LAKE CITY, Fla. — In the first ever battle between Hillsborough (Tampa) and Columbia (Lake City) it was a game that was all tigers throughout. In the end, Columbia got their second consecutive home shutout on the season with the 20-0 win after defeating Suwannee (Live Oak) two weeks prior with 13-0 victory.

The game remained scoreless until 9:08 left in the second quarter when Zamarion Jones scrambled on a fourth and goal from the eight yard line for the first score of the game which ended up being the only points of the first half. 

Columbia maintained and extended the one score lead on their opening drive of the second half and capped it off with a three yard touchdown pass from Jones to Bynton Edge to put the Tigers up 14-0 early in the third quarter. 

Columbia extended the lead on their next drive after forcing a three and out with an opening play touchdown from Jones to Edge to cap off the scoring at 20-0.

However, the Terriers did not lack in trying to get points on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter with a 28-yard field goal but the attempt went wide left and that would be the closest they would get to scoring in the game at Tiger Stadium.

Here are five takeaways from the game:

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1. Hillsborough has athletes even if it didn’t translate to the scoreboard 

Hillsborough seemed to have some good athletes specifically with quarterback Logan Rogers and a running back core that has seen three different scores rushing touchdowns so far in the young season that were able to make plays early in the game. Hillsborough was also able to get a few quick passes early in the game that got yards on Tigers’ defense but was not able to make the most of it.

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2. Hillsborough has the quarterback to win games but struggled to get much going around him

With Rogers leading under center he was able to make good throws when he had time and made a few good throws on the run as well. However, Hillsborough’s offensive line struggled to protect Boyd against a strong Columbia pass rush that ended up getting quite a few sacks in the game.

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3. Columbia’s defense will present problems for many teams this season 

Columbia’s defense kept Hillsborough pressured most of the night and effectively shut down the Terriers offense behind an aggressive pass rush that registered sacks throughout the night and disrupted any rhythm that Hillsborough tried to mount and the secondary largely held Hillsborough’s receivers unable to break open for big plays. This could prove huge for bigger games coming up on the schedule against the likes of Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) and St. Augustine, which will most likely be for the district championship in District 4A-3.

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4. Columbia’s early season offensive woes showed signs of improvement 

In the first ever battle between Hillsborough and Columbia it was a game that was all tigers throughout. In the end, Columbia got their second consecutive home shutout (Columbia previously shutout Suwannee 13-0 in the opener) on the season with the 20-0 win. 

The game remained scoreless until 9:08 left in the 2nd quarter when Zamarion Jones scrambled on a 4th and goal from the 8 yard line for the first score of the game which ended up being the only points of the first half. 

Columbia maintained and extended the one score lead on their opening drive of the second half and capped it off with a 3 yard TD pass from Jones to Bynton Edge to put Columbia up 14-0 early in the third quarter. 

Columbia extended the lead on their next drive after forcing a 3 and out with an opening play TD from Jones to Edge to extend the lead to 20-0. 

Hillsborough tried to get on the board early in the 4th quarter with a field goal but the attempt went wide left and that would be the closest Hillsborough would get to scoring in the contest. Columbia’s offense was able to sustain a few solid drives that helped control the flow of the game and put them into the lead in the game. This included the opening drive of the second half where Columbia went from their 40 yard line and drove down the field before capping it off with a touchdown pass to Bynton Edge. After a short three and out, Columbia struck again with a big 46 yard touchdown pass to Edge which eventually put the game out of reach. Even with starting quarterback Xavier Collins still injured, Columbia has found ways to produce offensively in his absence and Columbia did show some flashes of being a dangerous team which could prove beneficial for the second half of the season.

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5. Columbia’s defense protects Tiger Stadium at full force 

For the second straight game at Tiger Stadium, it ended with a defensive shutout by Columbia which has so far outscored their two opponents 33-0 at home this season between the 13-0 win over Suwannee and 20-0 over Hillsborough. Columbia’s defense has taken the old saying to heart, “if you give up no points you can’t lose.” With a run heavy Madison County (Madison) coming to Lake City next week, the defense will have an opportunity to control the game based on how well they can stop the run of the visiting cowboys.

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Player of the Game

Senior WR Bynton Edge of Columbia 

Bynton Edge came up big for Columbia with two touchdown catches and a few other big plays including a big catch that got Columbia into the red zone on their opening drive of the second half. Edge’s two touchdown catches would make the game out of reach for Hillsborough to come back in.

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Up Next

Columbia (2-1) will host Madison County (Madison) (2-1) in a good battle of North Florida teams next Friday night in at Tiger Stadium. Meanwhile Hillsborough (1-2) will travel to Middleton (Tampa) (1-2) as the Terriers look to get back on track.

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SCORING SUMMARY

1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total
Hillsborough 0 0 0 0 — 0

Columbia 0 7 13 0 — 20

SECOND QUARTER

Columbia – Zamarion Jones 8 run (Mathan Cook kick), 9:09

THIRD QUARTER

Columbia – Bynton Edge 3 pass from Jones (Cook kick), 9:32

Columbia – Edge 46 pass from Jones (kick no good), 6:54