Columbia football ends season at Mater Dei
- November 7, 2015
Columbia’s Jonathan Holmes breaks a Mater Dei tackle in the first quarter to score for the Eagles and tie the game at 7-7. (Greg Stanek photo)
Mater Dei took advantage of Columbia turnovers to ground the Eagles in the second round of the IHSA Class 4A playoffs Saturday in Breese, 45-22.
Mater Dei got on the board early in the first quarter, only to have the Eagles answer back with a 53-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drew Huebner to Jonathan Holmes to tie the game.
The Knights took back the lead early in the second quarter, then recovered a fumble, converting that into a field goal to open up a 17-7 lead midway through the second.
Columbia took advantage of an interception by Holmes and converted it into a 47-yard touchdown from Huebner to Lamont Read to cut into the Knights lead, 17-14.
The Knights wasted little time marching back down the field, scoring 54 seconds after the Eagles score to take a 24-14 lead into halftime.
The Eagles pulled to within eight points, but the Knights picked off another Huebner pass and pulled away in the fourth to win the game, 45-22.
Columbia finished its regular season at 10-1. The Eagles were Cahokia Conference champions for the fourth straight season. They also earned their first playoff win in the past three seasons, after losing to Althoff at home in round one in each of the previous two years.
