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Two teams that made the Elite Eight of the 2A state playoffs last year battled it out at Cobb Stadium on Thursday night and it looked like two elite teams battling it out to the very end. It was the Callaway Cavaliers that proved victorious, trumping Columbia 22-16 on a touchdown with 30 seconds to go in the game.

“We have guys that want to go out there and compete and play in games like this,” said a jubilant Pete Wiggins, Callaway’s head coach. “I’m so proud of our team and the leadership and poise they showed tonight.”

The Cavaliers trailed 16-14 when quarterback Blake Harrington got the ball with under four minutes on the clock. He orchestrated the game-winning drive punctuated by a 7-yard touchdown pass to Kaiden James on third down.

“Everybody went into the huddle with the same mindset: we are going to score a touchdown here,” Harrington said. “We knew that’s what we needed to win, there was no other option.”

It was a brilliant response from James, who dropped a would-be first down earlier on the drive. 

“You can’t let one play get you down,” James said. “You have to refocus and just take it a play at a time.”

“I trust all my guys to bounce back after a dropped pass,” Harrington said. “There was no hesitation, I’m always going to trust them in situations like that.”

The sophomore, who has an offer from the University of Alabama, missed last week with an injury but was anything but missing in action this week as he helped set the Cavaliers’ go-ahead touchdown run from Harrington (14-10) with just under nine minutes to go on the game when he made an adjustment in the air after a ball was tipped and reeled in a 20-yard catch that would set the Cavaliers up for a touchdown.

“It feels amazing,” James said. “I’ve waited for moments like this”

The first half played in heavy rain, was dominated by the Cavaliers. Callaway drove the opening possession into the red zone and the defense forced a fumble to set up the Cavalier offense in the red zone on Columbia’s first offensive possession, but each time the Eagles defense stepped up and Callaway came away with 0 points. 

The Cavaliers eventually broke through when Harrington connected with Jeremiah Dunn on a 47-yard touchdown on the first play following a punt with under nine minutes to go in the first half.

The Callaway defense was so strong, particularly in the first half, that Columbia had less than 10 yards of total offense in the first quarter and did not pick up a first down until the very last play of the quarter.

“Our defense was so good tonight, they had so many big stops when we needed them against a really explosive Columbia offense,” Wiggins said. ”Our guys played great at every level of the defense tonight, defensive line established the physicality, our linebackers played extremely well on the second level and the back end of our defense had big challenges against really good receivers and they came through for us in a big way.”

When Columbia drove the ball down the field and got into the red zone for the first time late in the second quarter, senior safety Kavius Leonard came through with an interception at the goal line to end the half.

The inclement weather moved out to start the second half and the game livened up. The Eagles started the second half in style, marching the opening possession down the field, converting two fourth downs in the process, and scoring a touchdown to cut the Callaway lead to just one point (8-7). The Cavalier offense struggled in the third quarter and subsequently, Columbia was able to capture its first lead of the game with 1:49 left to go in the third quarter, connecting on a 25-yard field goal.

Back-and-forth the game went as Harrington’s short rushing touchdown gave the Cavaliers a 14-10 lead just minutes later. The Eagles would reply right back to take a 16-14 lead with under five minutes to play, setting up the game-winning drive.

It was a complete performance from the Cavaliers as the special teams also did more than their part to get the win. The Cavaliers blocked a punt in the fourth quarter to set up the touchdown that put them up 14-10. The team narrowly missed getting a blocked punt in the first half but forced a meager 15-yard punt.

“Special teams are not talked about nearly enough, but they are so important in close games like this,” Wiggins said. “We don’t win this football game without some big plays from our special teams tonight.”

Callaway is starting to find some rhythm, a scary prospect for the other teams in 2A. After losing the first two games of the season by resounding margins, the Cavaliers have bounced back to win two games in a row to improve to 2-2. The wins come over a team that made the 2A state semis and another that made the 2A state quarterfinals. The Cavaliers will play Redan next Thursday at home for senior night. 

“It’s been an incredible four-game stretch, we played four really good football teams, and our guys have never quit working even when things weren’t going our way,” Wiggins said. “They’ve always stayed consistent. They’ve worked in the weight room. They work hard in the film room. They’ve shown up at practice. They’ve been here working on the weekends.”