Football Recap: Tamen Zabetakis Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Columbia + How To Watch

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Previous 3 Games

11/21/25 - Home	27-20 W
11/10/23 - Home	37-14 W
11/25/22 - Away	14-20 L

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Choctawhatchee had no problem doing just that on Friday. They came out on top against the Columbia Tigers by a score of 27-20. The Indians have seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw the Tigers, too.

Choctawhatchee's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Tamen Zabetakis, who threw for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also rushed for 35 yards.

Choctawhatchee's run defense was locked in: Columbia could only muster 2.8 yards per carry. The Indians didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 7.4.

Choctawhatchee didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Amir Reese and Jaylen Brazan. Reese got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

When it comes to explaining why Columbia lost, don't look at Xavier Collins. Despite the final result, he rushed for 39 yards and two TDs, and also threw for 211 yards on 15 of 22 attempts.

The victory made it two in a row for Choctawhatchee and bumps their season record up to 11-1. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 38.0 points over those games. As for Columbia, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-3.

Coming up, Choctawhatchee will square off against St. Augustine at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. That contest will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Zabetakis and Brenton James. Columbia does not have any more games scheduled as of now.