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COLUMBIA – It was oh, so close.

Northeast Academy fell behind, but never gave up and rallied to have a chance to tie the game in regulation before the Eagles fell 38-30 here Friday night at Columbia.

Jaden Medford rushed for 340 yards on 36 carries and scored three touchdowns as he continued his blistering pace early in the season. He has now rushed for 610 yards in his first two games of the season.

Northeast got on the board first, putting together a 12-play, 70-yard drive to open the scoring.

Junior Greyson Bridgers had a 30-yard reception from Medford to get the drive going when the Eagles were facing third-and-10. Camden White then completed a 23-yard pass to Medford later in the drive to move the ball from midfield to deep in Columbia territory.

Five plays later, Medford scored his first touchdown of the night on a four-yard scamper. White connected with Cole Taylor on the two-point conversion and Northeast led 8-0 with 1:55 to play in the first quarter.

The Wildcats went four-and-out thanks to a fourth down tackle by Taylor and Mason Vann, giving the ball back to the Eagles with just seconds to play in the first quarter. The drive stalled, however, and Columbia got the ball back at the Eagles’ 43-yard line.

It took the home team six plays to strike paydirt with the scoring coming on a 13-yard pass from Wesley Helms to Jayden Sawyer. Helms then added the conversion and the game was tied at 8-all with 8:39 to play in the second quarter.

The Eagles drive ended quickly when a bad snap resulted in a fumble that was recovered by the Wildcats. Three plays later, Helms found Sawyer again, this time from 25 yards out, as Columbia took the lead. Levi Spruill added the conversion and the Wildcats led 16-8.

The Eagles fumbled the ball back to Columbia after four plays, but a key defensive stop got the ball back. After a pass completion, Medford forced a fumble that Bridgers recovered to give the Eagles the football at their own 6 yard line.

The Eagles set sail on a 12-play, 94-yard drive to tie the game.

White connected with Medford on a 22-yard pass on the drive and Medford had runs of 17 and 15 yards, the last of which picked up a key first down when the Eagles were facing fourth-and-five.

Medford capped the drive with a six-yard run. White again connected with Taylor on the conversion to tie the game at 16-all with 42.8 seconds left in the half.

Columbia, however, struck back quickly when Helms threw an 11-yard touchdown pass. Helms again added the conversion himself and the Wildcats led 24-16 at the intermission.

The third quarter saw both teams put together drives only to come up short of the end zone, but that changed in the fourth period. There, the Wildcats scored quickly, getting a touchdown and conversion with 10:50 to play in the fourth, taking a 32-16 lead.

The Eagles weren’t done, however, as they responded on the next drive.

Medford had runs of 18 and 12 yards before White moved the ball to the Northeast 47-yard line with a seven-yard run. Medford did the rest, scampering 53 yards on the next play. The conversion run failed, however, leaving the Eagles trailing 32-22.

White recovered an onside kick for the Eagles, but a fumble ended the drive just three plays later.

The Eagles’ defense came up big, however, forcing a punt by the Wildcats.

Northeast drove 84 yards on 10 plays to close the gap. The big play was a 51-yard dash by Medford. White then capped the drive with a three-yard run. Medford added the conversion and Northeast closed within 32-30 with 2:03 to play.

This time the onside kick failed and Columbia scored when Helms went in from 11 yards out. The Eagles, however stopped the conversion run giving them a chance to tie in the final 50 ticks of the clock.

Following a three-yard run by Medford, Evan Torres ended the Northeast threat with an interception at the Columbia 17-yard line.

In addition to his 340 yards rushing, Medford completed one pass for 30 yards and grabbed three receptions for 50 yards.

White had 41 yards on 13 carries and completed three-of-six passes for 50 yards.

Defensively, the Eagles were led by Taylor, who had five tackles, one assist, and a pass breakup. Noah Luckadoo added five tackles on the evening while Medford had three tackles and a forced fumble. White had two tackles and two pass breakups while Vann added a pair of tackles. Bridgers finished with two tackles, one assist and fumble recovery.

Northeast returns home Friday (Aug. 30) to host Community Christian School at 7 p.m.