Randal Montgomery isn’t a what if kind of guy.
Keep that advice in mind in case you see Montgomery today and consider asking him about the playoff prospects for his Columbus High School football team.
Don’t bother asking the question because Montgomery doesn’t know. The only thing Montgomery is concerned about is finding a way for Columbus (3-6) to beat Murrah (6-4) at 7 tonight in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 matchup in Columbus.
Entering tonight’s action, Columbus is tied with Northwest Rankin for fourth in the region at 2-3 behind Starkville, Clinton, and Warren Central. After this week’s game, it plays at Warren Central in its region finale. Northwest Rankin plays at Madison Central and closes the regular season next week against Murrah. The top four teams in the region will advance to the postseason.
Montgomery isn’t sure how many permutations there are to determine which teams will advance. Frankly, he doesn’t care because he wants the Falcons to control what they can control and win their final two games. Montgomery knows that is the best way for Columbus to ensure it will keep its season alive.
To take care of the first part of the equation, Columbus will have to stop do-it-all performer Malik Dear. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior can play quarterback, running back, or wide receiver. Montgomery faced Dear last season when he was coach at Hazlehurst and came away with a 55-35 victory. This season, Montgomery knows Dear is capable of elevating the rest of a talented team, so he hopes his players can contain him and bring him down before he gets started.
“If he touches the football, we have got to have guys all around the football because he is one of those guys who may start on one side of the field and he may cut it all the way back across the field,” Montgomery said. “We can’t fall asleep and never assume he is going to go down because he is that type of player.”
Murrah is coming off a 31-6 loss to Starkville, while Columbus is coming off a marquee victory, a 17-10 decision against Madison Central. The home win kept the Falcons’ playoff hopes alive, but it wasn’t one that changed Montgomery’s perspective. Every week, Montgomery has talked about his team improving, minimizing mistakes, and executing at a higher level. This week has followed that script, as Montgomery has eschewed talking about playoff possibilities and maintaining momentum in favor of getting better from last week.
“I always tell them be better than you were yesterday,” Montgomery said. “I think if you start worrying about trying to win a game and if you win you still have a shot at the playoffs, you put more pressure on yourself than you really need to put on yourself.”
As cliche as it sounds, Montgomery prefers to take it one play at a time and to simplify things for a young team. He said the Falcons had as good a week of practice as they did this week as they did last week, which he feels bodes well for tonight. He said Columbus is having fewer mistakes and shorter periods in practices and games when it it hurting itself. He hopes that continues, tonight, too.
“I think that has led to the way we have played the past couple of weeks,” Montgomery said. “Any time you hold on to the football and don’t give good teams extra possessions, that is going to help your case in trying to win the ballgame. We have run the ball well, we have hit some passes down the field, and we have played some solid defense. I think that has been the key for us the past couple of weeks.”
Another key has been the ability to block out all of the talk about what if this happens or what could happen if that happen. All Montgomery knows is Columbus has to win its final two regular-season games.
“The only thing I have told them that is remotely close to anything that has to do with the playoffs is that look, Murrah is coming in here and we’re going to have a slugfest and we’re playing for the same thing,” Montgomery said. “The Warren Central game doesn’t matter — the playoffs don’t even matter — if we don’t take care of business (tonight). I would be crazy to talk about what is ahead.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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