The Salem Seminoles will challenge the Columbia Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Salem has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Columbia will arrive with three straight victories.
Salem is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Miller Grove on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Salem came up short against Miller Grove, falling 28-6.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Columbia over Redan in every quarter on their way to victory on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Columbia blew Redan out of the water with a 44-12 final score. With that win, the Eagles brought their scoring average up to 27.4 points per game.
Nishan Hillman went supernova for Columbia, rushing for 100 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. Hillman is becoming a predictor of Columbia's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 0-6 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Rashaad Silver, who picked up 138 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Columbia's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB eight times. It was truly a group effort as Kemonte Cummings, Mikel Edwin, Roynard Tolbert, and Cain Jefferson picked up two apiece. Tolbert is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last 18 games he's played dating back to last season.
Columbia was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 204 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
Salem's loss dropped their record down to 1-8. As for Columbia, their victory bumped their record up to 3-6.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
