By Wade Neely

PULASKI – Giles County utilized a combination of emerging playmakers, special teams success and a strong night from junior running back Chaye McElroy to fuel a 42-13 victory Friday over visiting Columbia Central.

With COVID-19 guidelines forcing schedule modifications almost on a weekly basis, this was a game that was not originally scheduled to be played on a warm September night at Sam Davis Park.

But when Giles County and Columbia both needed Week 4 contests due to canceled contests with Metro Nashville Public Schools programs, the two sides came together relatively quickly to schedule Friday’s contest.

“It was just one of those deals where we needed a game and they needed a game,” Bobcats head coach David O’Connor said. “Coach (Jason) Hoath and his staff did a great job of helping us pull off a game on short notice. We were just glad to finally be back out here competing on a Friday night after having our schedule kind of messed up the last few weeks.”

Despite not playing a full game since Aug. 21’s opening-night loss to Lincoln County (Giles County’s Week 2 contest at Hendersonville was stopped due to weather just before halftime and declared a no-contest), the Bobcats took control of Friday’s contest early, scoring on their first three offensive series.

But despite the offensive success, special teams played a major role in the Bobcat victory as Columbia Central had its opening possession end in a blocked field goal, and Giles County (2-1) recovered an onside kick after its opening score.

“We caught two huge breaks early in the game with the special teams playing lights out,” O’Connor said. “We got in there and blocked that opening field goal and went down and scored. I think recovering that onside kick afterward was what really gave us the confidence and momentum to kind of really take control of the game.”

After McElroy staked the hosts to a quick lead with touchdown runs of 3 and 2 yards, and Bryson Gordon added a 9-yard run for a 21-0 lead, Columbia Central (2-2) threatened to get back in the ballgame as senior quarterback Brady McCanless found fellow senior wideout Steven Kinnard on a 30-yard strike near the two-minute mark of the second quarter.

Ahead 21-6 at the break, the Bobcats went three-and-out on its opening possession of the second half, leaving the door open for a potential Lion comeback.

But a strong punt pinned the Lions near their own end zone and forced Central to give Giles County the ball back in quality field position.

From there, J.C. Brown got involved for the Bobcats, carrying the ball in for a 12-yard rushing score that pushed the lead to 28-6.

The Bobcats added another McElroy touchdown, his third of the night, early in the fourth quarter to essentially put the contest out of reach. McElroy ended with 23 carries for 171 yards on the night.

“It was good to just go out and play and get a win for our team and the fans,” McElroy said. “I felt like the offensive line really stepped up and did a great job tonight. The whole offense was really clicking and we just fed off the momentum.”

Columbia Central senior running back Justin Buchmann added the final score of the night for the Lions midway through the third.

The Lions accounted for just 185 yards of total offense – 91 on the ground and 94 through the air – coming off a 35-0 shutout loss to Summit in Region 5-5A play a week ago.

Giles County, meanwhile, racked up more than 450 yards of total offense and ran for 328 yards on 47 total carries.

The hosts closed the scoring midway through the fourth quarter when sophomore quarterback Riley Cardin launched a deep ball to a streaking Amarion Sizemore for a 49-yard touchdown.

“It was good to see some of our young and upcoming playmakers step up to the challenge tonight,” O’Connor said. “Our young quarterback really wants to start to emerge as a leader and I think tonight he took steps in the right direction. I thought our defense played well and got some key stops when we needed them. Tonight was just a great night of football in front of two really good crowds.”

With Metro Nashville Public Schools – which comprises all of Giles County’s Region 5-3A opponents – still delaying the start of the season, Giles County must now turn to another familiar opponent in archrival Marshall County for a game.

Already scheduled for a game in Pulaski later this year, Giles County will now travel to Lewisburg next Friday for a rarely seen regular-season home-and-home.

“This has been a weird year to say the least,” O’Connor said. “But Marshall County needed another game and we are in such an interesting position with our region. We want to keep playing as much as we can. If that means playing your rival twice, sometimes that is what you have got to do.”

Central is scheduled to host Lincoln County in a league matchup.

Giles Co. 42, Columbia Central 13
at Sam Davis Park

C 0 6 0 7 – 13
G 14 7 7 14 – 42

Scoring Summary
First Quarter

G — Chaye McElroy 3 run (6:14), Walker Belew kick
G — McElroy 2 run (3:42), Belew kick

Second Quarter

G — Bryson Gordon 9 run (7:04), Belew kick
C — Steven Kinnard 30 pass from Brady McCanless (2:45), kick failed

Third Quarter

G — J.C. Brown 12 run (7:14), Belew kick

Fourth Quarter

G — McElroy 1 run (10:25), Belew kick
C — Justin Buchmann 13 run (9:33), Patton kick

Team Statistics

C G
First downs 9 15
Rushes-yards 22-91 47-328
Passing yards 94 130
Comps-Atts-Ints 9-18-1 6-12-0
Penalties-yards 7-80 4-50
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0

Individual Statistics
Rushing

Columbia Central — Christian Biggers 11-52, Brady McCanless 5-12, Justin Buchmann 6-23
Giles Co. — Chaye McElroy 23-171, J.C. Brown 6-42, Riley Cardin 7-71, Bryson Gordon 5-13, Kamari Turner 6-16, Eric Goodnight 1-15

Passing

Columbia Central — Brady McCanless 9-17-1, 94, Parker Bush 0-1-0, 0
Giles Co. — Riley Cardin 5-10-0, 109, Amarion Sizemore 1-1-0, 21, J.C. Brown 0-1-0, 0

Receiving

Columbia Central — Steven Kinnard 3-57, Jase Hoath 1-18, Adrien Hidalgo 2-15, Justin Buchmann 3-4
Giles Co. — Amarion Sizemore 2-59, Chaye McElroy 2-41, Riley Cardin 1-21, J.C. Brown 1-9