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By John Clark

BLADENBORO – Quarterback Unique Kelly accounted for 428 yards of offense, ran for 3 touchdowns and threw for another as West Columbus rallied in the 2nd half to defeat West Bladen 27-15 in non-conference football action Friday night.

Kelly carried 17 times for 281 yards and scored a trio of 2nd half touchdowns on runs of 36, 30 and 47 yards as the Vikings rallied from a 9-6 deficit The speedy senior completed 5 of 11 passes for 133 yards and a 1st half touchdown. He also caught a pass for 14 yards.

Senior Jaylen Bellamy caught 2 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, and sophomore Jahan Lesane-Powell rushed 16 times for 74 yards as West Columbus racked up 530 yards of offense.

The Knights kept the visitors bottled up for most of the 1st half. A 39-yard punt by junior Cade Allen backed the Vikings up to their own 3 yard line on their 2nd possession. Kelly dashed 43 yards to the Knight 46, but junior Hezekiah Adams intercepted a Kelly pass 2 plays later to end the threat at the Knight 39.

Kelly ran for 15 yards then completed 2 passes for 26 yards as West Columbus reached the West Bladen 26 on their next possession, but a holding penalty and an illegal forward pass stopped the drive.

Adams dashed 35 yards on a punt return to set West Bladen up at their own 45. Sophomore quarterback Hunter Hester hurled a 38-yard pass to senior Travis Baxley for a 1st down at the Viking 14 yard line. The drive reached the 4 yard line before Allen split the uprights with a 27-yard field goal for a 3-0 Knight lead 7:42 before halftime.

Three plays later Kelly flipped a short pass to Bellamy who scooted through traffic to complete a 64-yard touchdown play that vaulted the Vikings ahead 6-3 at the 6:31 mark. A high snap foiled the conversion.

A 16-yard run by Lesane-Powell ignited a 60-yard Viking drive in the closing minutes of the half. Kelly connected with Bellamy for 36 yards, then caught a 14-yard pass from senior Junior Stewart. After Knight senior Jahmar Richardson sacked Stewart for a 12-yard loss, a West Columbus field goal attempt fell way short as the half ended.

Knight senior Cornelius Esters bolted straight up the gut with a 76-yard return of the 2nd half kickoff to the Viking 18 yard line. Adams fired a 19-yard pass to senior Messyah Whitted who made a diving catch at the West Columbus one. After a procedure penalty, Adams darted 6 yards for the touchdown. The conversion was blocked but the Knights led 9-6 at the 10:03 mark.

Kelly capped 3 of the next 4 Viking possessions with touchdown runs as the lead grew to 27-9. Senior Ryan Strickland added a trio of conversion kicks for the visitors.

Two plays after the last Kelly TD, Adams took a toss from Hester on the jet sweep, circled right end and escaped from several would-be tacklers before speeding to the end zone on a 67-yard TD play. A conversion run failed, but the gap was narrowed to 27-15 with 10:20 left to play.

Adams caught 3 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown, ran for a 6-yard TD, passed for 19 yards, piled up 87 yards of return yardage, and intercepted a pass. Hester completed 11 of 23 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. Baxley caught 2 passes for 41 yards. Whitted had a 19-yard reception. Esters returned 2 kickoffs for 103 yards.

Richardson led the defense with 11 tackles including a sack for -11 yards and a pass deflection. Senior Aaron Lewis had 10 tackles and a pass deflection. Junior Tyleak Ballard made 5 tackles, recovered a fumble and had a sack.

“We have got to execute on both sides of the ball,” said Knight Coach Stanley Williams. “We have to forget about ‘Me’ and think about ‘We’. Everybody has to do their part or things will kink up and break things down.”

Williams continued, “We are going to get there. We competed a lot better than last week, and much better than we did against them last year. We are going to shock some people down the road.”

The Knights, now 1-2, will travel to East Columbus Friday night. West Columbus improves to 3-0 and will visit St. Pauls Friday night.