Look: James Hurd, NiJay Johnson power Columbus past Hallettsville to improve to 7-0

The Cardinals running back duo combined for five rushing TDs, as Columbus rolled to a 35-13 road win over Hallettsville in their district opener

Blake Purcell | Oct 8, 2022

HALLETSVILLE, Texas — Columbus didn't take long to prove it was up to the task in one of its first major tests of the 2022 Texas high school football season.

Columbus — the No. 17 team in SBLive's Texas Small School Top 25 rankings — hit the road Friday night for its district opener, a pivotal matchup with postseason implications against the Hallettsville Brahmas.

The Cardinals slammed their foot on the gas, racing ahead to an early advantage behind the strength of their running game and offensive line, and never looking back.

Cards running backs James Hurd and NiJay Johnson combined for five rushing touchdowns, powering Columbus to a wire-to-wire 35-13 road win over Hallettsville on Friday at Brahmas Memorial Stadium.

The Cardinals carved up the Brahmas' defense with their two-headed monster of Hurd and Johnson in the backfield.

Hallettsville, which has defended the run well against several other high-caliber 2A-4A opponents this season, struggled to slow down the Columbus offense on the ground after falling in an early hole.

The Cardinals struck first with a pair of first-quarter touchdown runs and carried a 14-0 advantage into the second quarter.

The Brahmas responded with a short touchdown run of their own early in the second quarter, but missed the ensuing extra-point attempt and then allowed Columbus to reel off 21 straight points on a series of rushing scores by Hurd and Johnson.

Hallettsville was able to limit the Cardinals' high-flying passing attack and prevent Columbus from scoring on any touchdown passes, but could not claw their way back into the game enough to threaten to take the lead.

The Cardinals held the Brahmas to 101 yards through the air and 125 yards on the ground for the night.

Columbus (7-0, 1-0) will have to prepare for another major District 12-3A DI duel next week when the Cardinals are set to face the Hitchcock Bulldogs (7-0, 1-0) in a battle for first place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at Memorial Stadium in Columbus.

Hallettsville (5-2, 0-1), meanwhile, will look to bounce back next week when the Brahmas hit the road to take on the Hempstead Bobcats (1-5, 0-0) at the same time Friday, Oct. 14, at Bobcat Stadium in Hempstead.

Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the game:

PHOTO GALLERY — COLUMBUS 35, HALLETTSVILLE 13

All photos by Blake Purcell