Columbia’s season ended by Steel-High
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(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Christian Eby — LNP/Lancasteronline
CAMP HILL — Columbia’s Bobby Reese Jr. was in his defensive-ready stance before Steel-High broke its sideline huddle. Victory was well out of reach for the Crimson Tide but the eagerness and fight displayed by the nose tackle encapsulated everything Columbia football had embodied this fall.
It wasn’t long ago the Tide was celebrating the end of a 13-game losing streak. It wasn’t long ago numbers were a concern to field a healthy squad. It wasn’t long ago the District 3 Class 2A semifinals were just a dream.
| Final | |
| Steel-High | 30 |
| Columbia | 14 |
In its return to the postseason scene Friday No. 4 Columbia dropped a 46-22 decision to top-seeded Steel-High at Camp Hill’s Siebert Park. Steel-High, which produced its entire output in the first half, will face Halifax, a 30-14 winner over Lancaster Catholic, in next week’s championship at Susquenita High School.
After an 0-2 start this season Columbia closed its revival-like season at 5-6. Friday’s appearance was the Tide’s first in the District 3 dance since 2021.
“I’m super-proud of them,” first-year Columbia coach Nate Bagley said. “I think the first couple games were rough, they stayed on the ship with us, and they stayed investing in what we were doing. And they’re reaping the rewards of that tonight.”
The Tide emerged from the turbulent waters with a 35-7 Week 3 win over York Tech. They upped the excitement with a 48-0 Week 4 whitewashing of Lancaster Catholic.
Every week a stronger belief became evident.
“Columbia’s tradition is kind of some off years and some really good years and some off years and some really good years,” Bagley said. “I think these guys have something under their legacy, I guess you could say, because they fought through really bad seasons and came back and invested in each other, and it started to pay off for them.”
The Tide, which dressed anywhere from 17 to 20 players this season, will only need to replace two seniors. They’ll be key losses in Gage Wolf and Luke Rupp, stalwarts in the offensive and defensive trenches.
But the eagerness and fight for 2026 was a hot topic in Friday’s postgame breakdown. Words of “catalyst,” “foundation,” “growth” swirled into the windy autumn air.
“I think the biggest thing is they’re learning football, and they’re realizing they’re good at it,” Bagley said. “So once you start to have confidence, everything else kind of falls into place.”
Even amid Friday’s crash course, Columbia maintained a smidge of the confidence that carried it to unprecedented horizons. The fire didn’t blaze until the second half when Kareem Nichols galloped 25 yards — shedding two tacklers and ankle-breaking another defender — to paydirt to erase the Tide’s shutout.
Kamrai Nichols added an impressive 23-yard touchdown grab on the ensuing drive, and quarterback Cameron McClair moseyed to a 35-yard TD keeper with 27 seconds to play. Columbia also coaxed a safety on an errant snap and kept Steel-High under wraps on the attempted run out of the end zone.
It wasn’t that everything suddenly aligned. Much like the ascension during the regular season, the Tide had difficult discussions and asked for every last ounce from each other for a reputable finish.
“The Pequea (Valley game in Week 6) there were some things that happened that forced us to actually communicate and talk with each other and just be real and vulnerable,” Bagley said. “And I think that paid dividends for us as a group. They got to be closer together as a group. Winning doesn’t fix everything. Everyone thinks it does, but it really doesn’t. If anything, it just heightens things even further.”
One of the spikes was a deeper desire to fight. As illustrated by Reese on Friday, no matter the score, no matter the elements, Columbia embodied an eagerness that turned into a program shift.
It wasn’t long ago when that felt impossible.
“I would not want to coach a different group,” Bagley said. “All these kids, once they invest, they’re invested 100%. They buy in 100%. They’re passionate. And sometimes that’s great, and sometimes it hurts us. But they are who they are, and they’re authentic. And I think that’s one thing that makes this team really special.”
