Columbus North’s Sam Perry, left, and Jackson Haston, right, tackle Decatur Central at Columbus North, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
For better than three quarters of Friday night’s football season opener, it was all Columbus North.
But the final eight minutes belonged to Decatur Central.
The Hawks scored a field goal and two touchdowns in the final 7:06, including the go-ahead score on the next-to-last play of the game, to rally for an 18-14 win and spoiling a valiant effort by the Bull Dogs.
“It stings quite a bit,” North coach Logan Haston said. “Talking to our team, it’s hard to find the words for it. I’m really disappointed. Our guys played so hard. We just didn’t get it done.”
Taking over on its own 42 and trailing 14-12 with 2 minutes remaining, Decatur Central drove 58 yards in eight plays, with all 58 yards coming on the ground. The Hawks looked to be positioning themselves for a game-winning field goal, but ran the ball down to the 1-yard line with 10 seconds left.
Quarterback Bo Polston took it from there, sneaking it in from the 1 with 6.7 seconds remaining.
North dominated the first half, outgaining Decatur Central 147-75. Following a scoreless first quarter, the Hawks got on the board on their fourth possession of the game with a 45-yard field goal by Ashton Vogel.
But the Bull Dogs were quick to respond. A 61-yard run by Gino Prescott set up a 2-yard sneak by Asher Ratliff. Bryce Luttrell’s extra point gave North a 7-3 lead.
The Bull Dogs defense then held Decatur Central near midfield, forcing a punt. Garrett Long broke free to block the punt, and after a scramble for the ball, North’s Luke Russell picked it up at the 1 and dove into the end zone, and the Bull Dogs led 14-3 with 4:52 left in the first half.
That’s the way the game stayed until the Hawks cut the lead to 14-6 on a 39-yard field goal by Vogel with 7:06 left in the game.
Decatur Central then came up with a stop, and Polston threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Chris Richmond with 2:32 remaining. Needing a 2-point conversion to tie it, the Hawks were backed up to the 18 on the extra point attempt after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and North’s Tyrrice DeGraffenried intercepted the conversion pass.
Decatur Central then held the Bull Dogs on three plays and forced a punt before driving for the game winning score.
“We told them all summer we need to learn fast and play faster,” Haston said. “It was a game that was played at a very fast level. I think our guys responded to the challenge, even with them being pretty young. I think they were ready for the moment, and unfortunately, we just didn’t get it done tonight.”
Haston praised his defense, which showed vast improvement over last season. Sam Perry had an interception in the first quarter, and Keller DeSpain had a couple of sacks.
“I want to give an enormous amount of credit to our defense,” Haston said. “They played lights-out tonight. Coach (Luke) Teague had them ready to go from a defensive standpoint. We kept struggling to move the ball on offense, and they just kept coming back out and playing. I thought our defensive line pressure with Keller was really good. Our defensive secondary — we knew their quarterback was good and was going to take shots down the field — and they were disciplined. Sam Perry came up and made a ton of plays as a young guy. Just overall a really solid defensive game.”
Decatur Central 18, Columbus North 14
Decatur Central;0;3;0;15;—18
Columbus North;0;14;0;0;—;14
DC—Ashton Vogel 45 FG, 7:18.
CN—Asher Ratliff 2 run (Bryce Luttrell kick), 5:59.
CN—Luke Russell 1 blocked punt return (Luttrell kick), 4:52.
DC—Vogel 39 FG, 7:06.
DC—Chris Richmond 48 pass from Bo Polston (pass failed), 2:32.
DC—Polston 1 run (pass failed), :06.
Individual statistics
RUSHING — Decatur Central — Rushing: KC Berry 9-66, Npo Dodo 8-43, Halbert Aguirre 5-25, Elijah Tramil 3-20, Polston 13-13, Brycen Bonawitt 3-10. Columbus North: Gino Prescott 5-89, Ratliff 12-23, Sam Mormino 13-2.
PASSING — Decatur Central: Polston 8 for 23, 97 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception. Columbus North: Ratliff 13-23-104-0-0.
RECEIVING — Decatur Central: Richmond 4-78, Carson Ison 2-14, Aguirre 1-9, Dodo 1-(-4). Columbus North: Braylon Thoman 6-75, Jordan Briner 3-17, Morgan Knapp 2-6, Mormino 2-4.
