With five wins, a high school football team becomes eligible but not a lock to make the postseason. 

Columbia picked up an important sixth victory of the season at home Friday night to solidify a playoff berth.

The Eagles (6-3) scored first and last in a narrow 21-14 victory over Jerseyville. The IHSA playoff pairings were announced Saturday night and Columbia’s first round opponent in Class 4A will be Cahokia (7-2). Gametime is 7 p.m. Friday at Cahokia High School.

Columbia running back Jase Nelson opened the scoring Friday night with a 19-yard touchdown run at 10:48 of the first quarter. The extra point attempt was no good. 

That was followed by a 57-yard TD pass from Eagles quarterback Mason Voegele to Logan Hicks to put the home team up 14-0 at 8:02 of the opening frame. Cameron Janik converted a two-point try for Columbia.

Jerseyville answered with a rushing score in the first quarter and a short TD pass in the third quarter. It was 14-14 entering the fourth quarter.

The score remained that way until the waning minutes of regulation. 

Finally, Voegele scored on a one-yard run with just 2:20 remaining to put Jerseyville away. 

Nelson finished the night with 99 yards rushing on 19 carries and had 108 yards on three kickoff returns. On defense, he snagged an interception. 

In addition to 106 yards passing, Voegele ran for 65 yards.

Hicks was a star on defense for Columbia in addition to his receiving TD. He made eight tackles and had three assists.

Also stepping up for the Eagles defense was Keegan Thompson with eight tackles, an assist and a fumble recovery.

For the 2024 season, Nelson leads in total offensive yards with 1,035 (776 yards rushing) and nine TDs.

Hicks isn’t far behind with 839 total yards and 12 TDs (seven rushing, five receiving).

Voegele has completed 51 percent of his passes this season for 908 yards and eight TDs with seven interceptions. He’s also rushed for 442 yards and five TDs.

On defense, Voegele has been a ball hawk in the secondary with five interceptions. 

The Eagles will need all of their playmakers to bring their “A” game Friday night against Cahokia in the playoffs. Cahokia (7-2) has posted victories this season over the likes of Carbondale, Granite City, Centralia and Collinsville. 

Cahokia has two large senior linemen – 330-pounder Cameron Bedford and 310-pounder Renaldo Fisher Jr. – in addition to talented senior quarterback Zion Taylor (2,029 passing yards and 18 TDs).