Columbus football needed touchdowns in all three phases to survive Northwestern upset bid

It was nearly halftime Friday at Tropical Park and Columbus was stuck in a lifeless performance against a cross-town rival. The Explorers, the No. 23 team in MaxPreps’ national rankings, were trailing Northwestern, unable to find the end zone and stacking up three-and-outs when storms swept through Miami, and halted the game for nearly two hours.

It was a chance to reset and Columbus needed it to finally pull out a 24-7 win. Dave Dunn laid out the blueprint for how the Explorers would fend off the upset: Their offense would score one touchdown by itself, their defense would create one and their special teams would, too.

“We did that exactly,” the Columbus coach said.

The Explorers (5-0) outscored the Bulls, 21-0, in the second half to pull away and remain unbeaten.

They took the lead for good when star quarterback Alberto Mendoza led Columbus on an 76-yard touchdown drive early in the second half, finishing the possession with a touchdown pass to star wide receiver Jose Leon to go up 10-7. The Explorers pushed their lead to 17-7 on a short touchdown run by Columbus running back Edward Bandy with 9:19 remaining after a Explorers safety Shaddai Carter blocked a field goal to flip the field, then forced a fumble to set up Columbus at Northwestern’s 35-yard line. Finally, they sealed the win on another touchdown run by Bandy after forcing a turnover on downs at the Bulls’ 30.

The Explorers finished with three takeaways, a blocked kick and a sack, and shut out Northwestern (1-4) for the final 30:20.

“Most definitely, we needed to make big plays on defense,” Carter said. “We did pretty good.”

The first half was even a challenge for Columbus’ defense. The Bulls turned to Calvin Russell at quarterback and the star sophomore, who has mostly played wide receiver in his time at Northwestern, and the underclassman dazzled for a half. Russell went 13 of 19 for 136 yards, and also ran 12 times for 72 yards and a touchdown with 6:20 left in the first half to put the Bulls up 7-3.

Northwestern followed its lone touchdown by forcing a three-and-out and then Russell danced 51 yards into the end zone -- hitting stutter steps and spin moves along the way -- only to have the touchdown called back for holding. The weather delay came a few moments later, the Bulls punted after play resumed and the Explorers finally regrouped in the second half.

First, Mendoza, who’s orally committed to James Madison, led a long touchdown drive by feeding star tight end Benjamin Blackburn and then connecting with Leon for a 9-yard touchdown on third-and-goal.

Mendoza went 19 of 34 for 235 yards and a touchdown, and added 26 yards on 12 carries. Columbus’ defense and special teams handled the rest.

When Northwestern lined up for a chance to tie the game with a 37-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, Carter exploded through the line untouched to block the kick and give the Explorers the ball near midfield. Even though Columbus followed it up with a three-and-out, the Explorers flipped the field, then got the ball in Bulls territory after Carter jarred the ball away from Northwestern wide receiver Elijah Hardy on the first play of the Bulls’ next series.

Bandy, who ran for just 23 yards on 10 carries, scored touchdowns on each of the Explorers’ next two drives to lock up the victory.

“They played with much more everything,” Dunn said, in praise of Northwestern. “We had a little come-to-Jesus moment at halftime.”