Winning is a potent elixir.
After three weeks of taking one step forward only to stumble and fall two steps back, Randal Montgomery and the Columbus High School football team discovered Friday the transformative powers that accompany winning. Buoyed by a season-high 414 yards of offense, Columbus routed Louisville 43-20 before a packed house at Falcon Field. While the victory didn’t erase the disappointment of an 0-3 start, it gave Montgomery and the Falcons a tangible reward for hard work after losses to Noxubee County, New Hope, and West Point.
“Friday night it was just an opportunity for us to take a step forward, and we took another step forward and kind of build on that momentum,” Montgomery said.
Columbus will try to build on its first win of the season against top-ranked Starkville at 7 p.m. Friday in Starkville. The game will be the Class 6A, Region 2 opener for both schools.
Starkville (4-0) is coming off a 37-7 victory against Florence (Ala.). That victory helped solidify the Yellow Jackets’ spot atop The Associated Press’ weekly rankings.
But Montgomery isn’t concerned as much about what Starkville will do Friday as he is focused on making sure the Falcons do what they need to do to be successful. He realizes all of the pressure will be on Starkville to beat Columbus, so he knows his team will have nothing to lose in the first game of a seven-game district marathon.
Montgomery liked how his inexperienced team responded Friday night in building a 29-0 lead. He said the victory helped everyone “breathe a sigh of relief” and not worry about winning a game and being able to think about playing football.
Sophomore running back Kylin Hill spoke to that mentality Friday night after the game when he said, “Football is all about having fun, and you have to play happy to be successful.”
Montgomery doesn’t have any magic formula to capture the winning mind-set his team played with against Louisville. But he said the Falcons can capitalize on a new energy and a fresh start to a season now that district play has arrived.
“The only thing that is important for us now is what we do moving forward,” Montgomery said. “That ultimately is what we’re going to be judged on. We are going to try to keep getting better and better, and I think that is what we have been doing.”
Columbus overcame a season filled with turnovers and missed opportunities against Louisville. Led by Kendre Conner (11 carries, 116 yards, one touchdown) and Hill (11 carries, 109 yards, two touchdowns), the Falcons racked up 304 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 42 carries. Quarterback Jay Jay Swanigan threw for 110 yards and rushed for two scores. The senior also threw three interceptions. But Montgomery said he sees signs his team is building confidence and getting more comfortable. He knows Columbus will have to play with poise and take care of the football against a team that has a talented defense and plenty of weapons on offense.
“I think we have the ability to do some things against them,” Montgomery said. “I am not going to get into a whole lot about what we are going to do, but we will find out Friday. Our kids are excited about the challenge. It is the first district ballgame and you open it up against the No. 1 team in the state. We’re trying to build a program, and what better way to go out and start the district schedule off.”
Montgomery will feed off the mantra “Why not Columbus” this week in getting his players to play with confidence against Starkville. He knows the Falcons are capable of competing with many of the teams in Class 6A-Region 2. Winning a game helped take the pressure off the Falcons and helped them realize they can have success if the execute.
“I liked our focus pretty much throughout the game,” Montgomery said. “We jumped out pretty big pretty early. I thought our guys did a great job of maintaining their focus. That could have easily been a situation that we got all excited and forgot what we were supposed to be doing. They kept a real even keel, and that is a good sign.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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