COLUMBUS, Kan. – (WATCH) Topeka-Hayden tops Columbus 39-19 in the 3A state quarterfinals Friday night.
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Tag Archives: Columbus Titans
FULL INTERVIEW: Columbus HC Blake Burns on winning regional championship
WATCH: Columbus head football coach Blake Burns joins us to talk about his team’s regional championship win over Galena Thursday night, key players, turning the season around after a 1-5 start and being underdogs in the 3A playoffs.
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Columbus knocks off Galena to claim 3A regional championship
GALENA, Kan. – (WATCH) Columbus knocks off Galena 21-4 to claim a 3A regional championship Thursday.
The Titans advance to the 3A state quarterfinals, where they will face the winner of Wellsville/Topeka-Hayden.
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
PIGSKIN PODCAST: Ep. 10 with Pitt State safety Brandon Mlekus
Check out Episode 10 of the KOAM Presents: Pigskin Podcast (LINKS BELOW). On THIS episode:
- Girard/Frontenac regional championship (2:09)
- Undefeated Chanute aims for regional championship (7:24)
- Galena/Columbus regional championship (9:38)
- Carthage, Webb City return from byes (11:17)
- Seneca on playoff opener vs. Hollister (12:59)
- Interview with Pitt State safety Brandon Mlekus (16:16)
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1uVRk3OExeJWy0DC6ylHW9?si=wIAhksZtT3-c75I-dJJf6w
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spize9AQTKQ
WEB: https://www.koamnewsnow.com/pigskin/koam-presents-pigskin-podcast/
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Galena aims for regional championship against CNC rival Columbus
GALENA, Kan. – The Galena Bulldogs have a shot at claiming a 3A regional championship Thursday night against CNC rival Columbus.
“It means a lot. It’s one of our goals every year to win a regional championship and move on to the state playoffs,” says Galena head coach Beau Sarwinski, “It would mean a lot to our seniors and everybody in our program. We just have to take it one play at a time and see what happens for our kids.”
Both teams are on a roll heading into Thursday’s showdown.
Galena is 7-2 overall and has won 6 straight games. Columbus is 4-5 overall, but they’ve won three in a row – including a 46-8 blowout over Burlington in the first round of the playoffs last week.
The Bulldogs beat the Titans 36-22 when they met in the regular season, but Galena knows they’re facing a different Columbus team than the one they saw six weeks ago.
“They’re playing with a lot of confidence. Any time you play a team that’s got confidence, they’re scary,” Sarwinski says, “They’re just going right after people and playing physical. Any time you can do that this time of the year, a lot of good things can happen for you. They can also throw it. They’re running the ball effectively, and I think it’s opening up some play action for them and has kept them to where they’re playing pretty well right now.”
Thursday’s game was previously scheduled for Friday night – but forecasted weather caused the two teams to move the game up to Thursday.
“Thursday is when you usually kind of polish things up,” Sarwinski says, “We’re just going to have to make sure we’re prepared on Wednesday and do the best that we can. It’s the same for both teams, so there’s no advantage either way. You just move forward and get ready to roll.”
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
PIGSKIN PODCAST EP. 9: The playoffs are here
Check out episode 9 of the KOAM Presents: Pigskin Podcast (links below). On THIS episode:
- Nevada knocks off Seneca (1:55)
- Quin Renfro huge night for Joplin (3:30)
- A look ahead for Carthage, Webb City, Seneca and Lamar (6:43)
- Girard enters playoffs undefeated (7:43)
- Columbus gets hot at the right time (10:05)
- Interview with Quapaw HC J. MacArthur and QB Jack Deringer (15:42)
- The thin margin for error in the MIAA (29:25)
- Pitt State aims to stay perfect at Central Oklahoma (31:28)
APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/koam-presents-pigskin-podcast-ep-9/id1610196188?i=1000583994080
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5XUpWZK7RgmOqTvuiMhL8G?si=SJQ4GPqsSCGnPL3JVYEfYw
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0PZmt1Xnz4
WEB: https://www.koamnewsnow.com/pigskin/koam-presents-pigskin-podcast/
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Columbus grabs momentum heading into 3A playoffs
COLUMBUS, Kan. – The Columbus Titans have a little momentum heading into the 3A playoffs, after beating Parsons 30-6 in their regular season finale last week.
That win gave Columbus back to back wins for the first time this season.
“It was our best performance of the season. We’re just happy to see them doing what they’re capable of doing. We’ve been waiting for this group to take that next step,” says Columbus head coach Blake Burns, “Our three pillars are locked in, family and sacrifice. You don’t have to be blood to be family. That’s what we’ve been preaching to these kids. I think they finally dialed that in and they played four quarters of team football.”
A big key to Friday night’s win was the run game – and getting one of the team’s best players more opportunities to have the ball in his hands.
“We did have to move some bodies around…Landin Midgett was in the backfield last week. He really ran the ball hard and set the tone for us on offense,” Burns says, “Brett did a really good job carrying the ball, too. Our offensive line really played physical for four quarters Friday night, and that’s what we’ve been missing.”
“We obviously ran the ball a ton,” says senior quarterback Brett Hamilton on Friday’s win, “This entire year, we’ve kind of gotten away from what we’ve done in the past few years. We wanted to throw it a little bit more, but we were frustrated with how things were working out so far. We decided hey, let’s get our mojo back and let’s run the ball down somebody’s throat. That’s what we did. We dominated honestly that whole game. We limited our mistakes and we didn’t get behind the chains. It gave us a lot of confidence, and I think we’re getting things rolling at the right time.”
“Getting the running game going was big for us,” Burns adds, “I’m an offensive line coach. It’s kind of been killing my soul a little bit every week.”
Columbus is now 3-5 overall this season. They will be on the road against Burlington (5-3) in the first round of the 3A playoffs on Friday night.
“Burlington is a very physical team. Their wrestling program kind of lends itself to them being a very solid tackling team. Their coaching staff does a great job,” Burns says, “They’ll pull out a trick play when they need to. They may not look the fastest when you turn on the film, but when you show up in Burlington you know they’re going to play hard and they’re going to be quick.”
“I couldn’t even tell you where Burlington is. I’ve heard it’s a nice little town,” Hamilton says, “I heard they have tough kids. They played one of our opponents in Girard, and Girard handled them pretty well. We’re going into it with confidence. We just want to go handle business and win and advance.”
For Hamilton and the seniors, they’re motivated to build on their late-season success – and make sure Friday is not the last game of their high school careers.
“We got a little taste of it last week, knowing that it was our last game ever here in Columbus at Cecil Kline Field,” Hamilton says, “For the seniors, that hit hard. It gave us a little taste of it. I’ve told the guys that every game after this is potentially our last game, and we have to play like it is. I told my guys I’m going to die on the field for them, and I expect the same from them.”
“We’ve tended to peak a little early in the past before going into the playoffs,” Burns adds, “I’m not going to say we’ve necessarily peaked right now, but we’re playing our best football rolling into round one of the playoffs, and that is exactly what we need to be doing.”
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.