Columbia looking to emerge with another championship in tightly bunched Section 5
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
New head coach. New quarterback. No problem.
That’s what the Columbia Crimson Tide is hoping after winning the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 title last season, its first since 2002, and appearing in districts for the first time since 2012.
Gone are record-setting quarterback Robert Footman (now at Millersville) and head coach Bud Kyle (now at Eastern York after five seasons in Columbia).
New head coach Brady Mathias takes over a Crimson Tide team that averaged 44.7 points per game last season but also gave up 32.0. The offense figures to take a hit, so the Tide is focusing on improving its defense.
“Obviously having lost Rob and (all-league wide receiver) J’von (Collazo) offensively, that’s a rare combination to have,” Mathias said. “Replacing them is going to be tough.
“We don’t have as many offensive weapons so we’ve gotta make up for that somewhere. Our idea has been to play a better identity of defense.”
The next priority is getting the new quarterback, Daezjon Giles, comfortable in the system. It will help having last season’s Section 4 Receiver of the Year Dominic “Domo” Diaz-Ellis returning, along with top receiving threats Artie Poindexter, an all-league pick, and Demari Simms. All-league running back Steven Rivas returns along with left guard Chris Sabino.
“We have a new offensive coordinator with Bud and some of his staff going to Eastern,” Mathias said. “They’ve been working together and I’m hoping the system that we have in place will be beneficial to the way Daezjon plays quarterback.”
Columbia has steadily improved after a winless season in 2017, going 3-7, 4-6, and 4-4 before 2021’s breakthrough 8-2 finish. The expectations are the highest they’ve been in a while.
“Last year was probably our best year in a decade,” said Diaz-Ellis. “Columbia was down for a while. Then last year, we got back up. This year we want to keep it up.”
It all starts Friday against former head coach Kyle and Eastern York.
“It was definitely challenging this offseason,” Sabino said. “A new head coach, losing our quarterback. But we’re coming back now and we’ve been practicing all offseason with a new OC and new defense. We’re putting it all together now.”
The Crimson Tide slides into Section 5 in the new Lancaster-Lebanon League, along with Annville-Cleona, Hamburg, Kutztown, Lancaster Catholic, Northern Lebanon, Pequea Valley and Schuylkill Valley.
Columbia returns five first-team all-league picks and two second-team picks, which will certainly help offset the graduation losses and transition to a new head coach. The Tide should be right back in the mix for a section title.
“It’s kind of nice because the first year of the merger is also my first year coaching,” Mathias said. “It’s not like I have to do anything different than what I’m used to. But I also think it’s important for us as a staff and a team to focus on Week 1. We’ve really been pushing the mentality of 1-0.”
League play gets underway for the Tide Sept. 16 against rival Lancaster Catholic, also expected to be in contention for the section title.
Annville-Cleona went 3-6 in Section 4 last season and returns linebacker Alex Long, who holds an offer from Penn, and running back Phoenix Music.
Hamburg, picked by the section’s coaches as the preseason favorite, went 7-4 in Berks 2 last season and returns quarterback Xander Menapace, running back Pierce Mason and lineman Charles Sheppard.
Lancaster Catholic, which finished 4-7 in Section 3, Northern Lebanon, which finished 4-7 in Section 4, and Schuylkill Valley are in the mix as well.
“I don’t know if there are any clear-cut favorites,” Mathias said. “In terms of teams that are back from the L-L, Annville is going to be a tough game and they moved down to (Class) 2A now, so that’s a big game for us.
“I hate to look forward but you have to circle them; essentially we are playing for a district playoff spot at this point. Now it has playoff implications.
“Northern Lebanon’s got some guys back. (Lancaster) Catholic is always a tough game. We’ll see.”
It’s all speculation until the games are played.
“First we’re worried about a section title, then districts,” Diaz-Ellis said. “Depending on how we do in that, maybe states. But we’re going to worry about Week 1 first. Then Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, and going on.”
