Columbia Football Hosts North Marion in Regular Season Finale

A pair of 7-2 teams look to end the regular season on a high note Friday night, as Columbia hosts North Marion on homecoming.

Strength-on-Strength

The matchup between the Columbia offense and the North Marion defense is a heavyweight battle.

The Tiger offense has produced roughly points per game, while North Marion has allowed just 8.7.

While the Colts defense has stifled opposing offenses all year and is strong at every level, it’ll take an especially strong performance to get the win tonight.

Columbia’s identity lies primarily within its passing game. Senior QB and USF commit Jordan Smith has thrown for over 230 yards per game this season, and is able to beat teams with his arm and legs.

Smith spreads the ball around, as the receiving core is led by fellow USF commit Marquez Bell but contains eight different players with touchdown receptions this year.

Colts senior safety Luke Rose leads the team in tackles and interceptions, and will have his hands full in the secondary tonight.

The only thing that’s really slowed the high-octane attack this season is the turnover bug.

In two losses, the Tigers turned the ball over a whopping seven times. After a turnover-free bounce-back win over Middleburg last week, Jordan Smith said that he made a conscious effort to get the ball out quicker.

Postseason Implications

Playoffs? That’s right, we’re talking about playoffs.

As it stands, both teams would be wild cards in their respective regions.

Columbia is currently the fifth seed in region one of 6A, and a win tonight would presumably affirm their RPI status as the region’s top wild-card.

North Marion sits at #8 in region 2 of 5A, or in other words, the “last team in.”

A win and they’re certainly in. However, a loss may push their RPI down enough to narrowly knock the Colts out of their region’s 8-team bracket.