Randal Montgomery’s message has remained positive throughout the ups and downs of his first season as football coach at Columbus High School.
Montgomery has had to work to change the mind-set of a program that never has had consistent success amidst the expectations that his success at Class 3A Hazlehurst High — where he led the program to three consecutive state title games, winning one — led some to believe he would be able to have similar success immediately at Class 6A Columbus.
While that level of success might not be evident in the team’s record (2-6), Montgomery feels Columbus has improved every week and that it is building a program that will be successful in the state’s highest classification.
Despite the record, Columbus could take an important step at 7 tonight when it plays host to Madison Central (4-4) in a Class 6A, Region 2 game. Columbus, Madison Central, Northwest Rankin, and Murrah are tied for fourth place at 1-3 in the region standings. A win tonight and next week against Murrah would put Columbus in position to earn a playoff berth with the regular-season finale against Warren Central remaining. The top four teams from the region qualify for the playoffs.
“The main thing I have been preaching is execution,” Montgomery said. “We need to do the things that are necessary in a ballgame to be successful, and we did that Friday night.”
To accomplish that goal, Montgomery feels Columbus will need an effort like the one it delivered last week in a 46-0 victory against Greenville. Columbus rushed for 192 yards (301 total yards) to snap a three-game losing streak. In his first start, sophomore quarterback C.J. Gholar was 7 of 13 for 109 yards with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Kylin Hill.
“He did a great job,” Montgomery said of Gholar. “It was his first start, and he stepped in and ran the offense. He did some great things. He didn’t have many missed assignments, he took care of the football, and he ran the ball well.”
Montgomery said he didn’t see a missed beat going from Gholar to senior Jay Jay Swanigan at quarterback. He said both players had been getting as many repetitions in practice. Montgomery felt last week was the right time to give Gholar a chance, and he said he feels Gholar will be the Falcons’ “guy” for a couple of more years.
Christian Petty led the ground game with 12 rushes for 63 yards, while Gholar had seven carries for 63 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown. Hill had seven rushes for 42 yards, including touchdown runs of 3 and 19 yards, while Eric Harris had six rushes for 21 yards. Kemario Evans added a 3-yard touchdown run.
Hill led the receivers with four catches for 71 yards. Marquavius Mitchell had two catches for 25 yards.
Columbus forced four turnovers and also received a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jarrelle Peterson. Anthony Maleta completed the scoring with field goals of 28 and 27 yards in Columbus’ most complete effort of the season at a perfect time.
“Whenever whatever you are preaching works, I think it kind of reels the kids back in a little bit,” Montgomery said. “But I don’t think we ever lost focus. We have been having great weeks of practice. Granted, when you win Monday morning and Monday afternoon seems to work a little better for you, but I think we have had three great days leading up to (Thursday). I think a lot of that has to do with we were able to win a game and these kids understand we have a shot at making the playoffs.”
A playoff berth would be Columbus’ first since 2012, when Columbus was the No. 4 seed out of Class 6A, Region. Its season ended with a 41-7 loss at Madison Central.
Montgomery said he hasn’t talked about Madison Central’s tradition with his players. Instead, he has focused on what his team has to do to stay focused, hold on to the football, and execute. If the Falcons do those things, he said he likes his chances in his team’s final three games.
“It is better to be playing for a playoff spot than to be playing for pride,” Montgomery said. “We have a great football team coming in here tomorrow. I feel confident if we play our game we have an ability to come out victorious.”
With so many young players contributing, Montgomery has made it clear to his players he has the same expectations for everyone. To that point, he said he moved 11 of 12 freshmen up to the varsity squad. One of those freshmen started against Greenville and played the whole game. Another saw significant minutes. Those players, as well as the sophomores and juniors, will be counted on to mature to be integral parts of the building process at Columbus.
“This season is more so about moving forward,” Montgomery said. “We are not just trying to have a good team, we’re trying to be a program — year after year after year having a good football team. So many times with so many things, people want instant gratification. That is not what we’re looking for. Throughout the course of the season, there are probably some things I could have done that probably would have given us the opportunity to win some more ballgames, but what does that do for us in years to come? That’s not what we are looking for. We are looking for an opportunity to build a program here so that year in and year out it is expected that you’re going to have good football teams.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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