Columbia eliminated in first round by Herscher

An up-and-down season came to an end for Columbia in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs Friday night.

The Eagles fell to No. 3-seeded Herscher 48-14.

Columbia scored in the second quarter on a 16-yard pass from quarterback Nic Horner to Shane Wilhelm. By that time, however, the Eagles had already spotted Herscher a 14-0 lead.

Herscher went on to score three unanswered touchdowns before the end of the half, two of them on 6-yard runs by Anothony Koranda.

Koranda and quarterback Tyler Jarnagin each scored three touchdowns in the game.

Columbia senior Colton Byrd, who returned to action two weeks ago despite a torn ACL, scored on a 16-yard run in the fourth quarter. He capped his career with the Eagles with 92 yards on 21 carries.

The Eagles’ season ends at 5-5. Herscher advances to a second-round game against either No. 6 Taylorville (8-1) or No. 11 Coal City (6-3), who play Saturday.

This story was originally published October 27, 2017 at 9:51 PM with the headline "Columbia eliminated in first round by Herscher."