Wapello whips Wildcats after restart

It was a new day, and a completely new game on Monday evening.

After being rained out in the middle of the first quarter on Friday, Columbus held a 12-6 lead over non-district rival Wapello, but after the storms came, the Wildcats were forced to finish the game on Monday night.

With Wapello opening the restart at the Wildcat 20-yard line, they issued a statement that the momentum would be on their side during a rare Monday night showcase, and went on to outscore Columbus 52-16 after the game resumed, cruising to a 58-28 victory.

?This is the first time we have had this experience,? Columbus head coach Jeff Martin said. ?I thought our kids were ready, but it?s a hard thing to do when you know the other team has the ball on the 20 to start the game. But that?s what it was and we needed to play better.?

The Indians scored quickly after the restart, with Tariq Green catching a pair of touchdown passes for Wapello, putting them up 19-12 by the end of the first quarter.

Another touchdown pass made it 26-12, before the Wildcats had their best opportunity of the new game. A pair of personal fouls on Wapello put Columbus next to the red zone, but the Wildcats ended up turning the ball over on downs.

The Indians capitalized with a 41-yard screen pass to make it 32-12 before the half.

A 65-yard touchdown pass in the opening seconds of the second half put Wapello on top 39-12, but the Columbus offense got things moving a couple of drives later.

After a shallow Indian punt, Ruben Paz took a reverse handoff and scampered 35 yards for a touchdown, making it 39-20.

?Sometimes our young men need to have something good happen to get going,? Martin said. ?That?s something we need to correct. We need to make good things happen for us and not just let them happen.?

The Wildcats picked up a one-yard touchdown plunge from Mauricio Ramirez (He had both Columbus touchdowns before the game was suspended), but the Indians wouldn?t let Columbus back in the ball game, pulling away for the victory.

?We didn?t play very well,? Martin said. ?We knew exactly what they were going to do, and we let them make plays. To give Wapello credit, they did a good job and they were better than us tonight.?

The Wildcats drop to 2-2 on the season after the loss (1-0 in district play) and will have a quick turnaround to a Friday night game against West Marshall.