Jacobs’ return sparks Phantoms’ offense in win over Lions

FLORENCE — In his first game since returning to Florence, Omar Jacobs accounted for seven touchdowns in a 55-36 beating of Columbus on Saturday.
The reigning American Indoor Football Association MVP tossed six TD passes, three to Reggie Eubanks. South Florence’s Torrey Pettigrew caught two scoring strikes, and high-school teammate A.J. Bennett added another.
Defensively, Florence gave the Lions fits. Columbus quarterbacks Bill Ashburn and Kevin Huff were harassed all night by the Phantoms.
Larry Thompson and Otheese Wells each finished with an interception, and Rontrell Woodruff added a fumble recovery.
Jacobs’ first series was anything but perfect. After completing a 15-yard pass to high-school teammate A.J. Bennett, he was separated from the football on a sack. Justen Rivers scooped up the loose ball and raced 25 yards for a 7-0 Columbus lead at the 10:21 mark of the opening quarter.
It didn’t take Jacobs long to atone for his miscue. The former Bowling Green star was perfect on a five-play drive capped by an 8-yard scoring pass to Pettigrew. Derek Scott added the PAT, and the score was tied 7-7 at 8:48 of the quarter.
South Florence’s D.J. McLeod recovered a Lions fumble, and the Phantoms’ offense went to work once again. Jonathan Wedlock scored on 2-yard run, and Florence had a 14-7 advantage with 2:21 left in the first quarter.
After Columbus’ Carlos Martinez hit a 40-yard field goal, Jacobs went to work once again. He connected with Bennett on a 38-yard pass, and then called his own number on a quarterback sneak from a yard away to increase his team’s lead to 21-10 at the 12:38 mark of the second quarter.
Martinez nailed his second field goal of the first half to keep it close, but nothing was stopping the Florence offense. Jacobs fired two TD strikes to Eubanks, including a 32-yarder as the Phantoms rolled into halftime leading 35-17.
The start of the game was delayed 30 minutes because of a power outage from the storms that moved through the Pee Dee.