Disciplined. Fiery. Organized. Detail-oriented.
Those are some of the qualities Randal Montgomery could bring to Columbus High School as its new football coach.
On Tuesday, the Hazlehurst High football coach was offered and accepted a job offer to replace Tony Stanford and become the Falcons’ next coach. Montgomery’s appointment could become official Jan. 21 at the Columbus Municipal School District’s next meeting.
Reached by text message Tuesday, Montgomery declined to comment because he wanted to talk to his players and his coaches about his decision. It is unclear if Montgomery, who led Hazlehurst to the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A title game the past three seasons, would come to Columbus permanently after that to assemble a coaching staff and to get his team ready for spring football.
Montgomery spent three years as an assistant football coach at Canton High and four years as an assistant football coach at Velma Jackson High, where he also served as the powerlifting coach. He had a 43-4 record at Hazlehurst, which included a 16-0 finish and a 21-20 victory against Charleston in the state title game in 2012. In 2011, Charleston defeated Hazlehurst 34-8. In 2013, Louisville edged Hazlehurst 30-28 for the crown.
Louisville coach M.C. Miller said he watched five or six tapes of Hazlehurst prior to playing Montgomery’s team in the state title game. He said he saw a “disciplined” team that played hard and had a good mix of running and passing. He said he didn’t get a chance to talk to Montgomery much at the gathering at the MHSAA offices prior to the state titles games or before the Wildcats and the Indians played.
“They were solid fundamentally and they didn’t hurt themselves and didn’t make too many mistakes,” said Miller, whose team is scheduled to play Columbus this season. “They are just a solid ballclub and played good fundamental ball. On defense, we had to prepare for them running the ball and throwing the ball. They ran screens and did a lot of different things.
“He did a good job where he has been, and coming to Columbus I think he will do a good job also. Everywhere he has been he has done a good job. He might be the one to turn that thing around for Columbus.”
Stanford resigned as Columbus’ coach Dec. 12 after four seasons as head coach. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach for head coach Bubba Davis. Stanford went 22-23 at Columbus and led the team back to the playoffs in 2012 for the first time since 2005. Columbus, which was playing in Class 6A, Region 1, lost to Madison Central in the first round.
In 2013, Columbus went 4-7 and 2-5 in Class 6A, Region 2 with teams like Madison Central and Starkville.
In the past 11 seasons, Stanford is the school’s long-tenured coach. Davis won four games in 2008-09, while Daryl Jones (2006-07) and Rusty Funk (2004-05) stayed for two years apiece after Roy McCrory took over for Pat Davis and coached at the school from 1997-2003.
Crystal Springs Athletic Director Johnny Young coached against Montgomery and Hazlehurst in 2011 and 2012 when the teams were in Class 3A, Region 7. He remembers Montgomery sticking with the Indians’ Wing-T offense in his first year. In Montgomery’s second season, though, Young heard people talking when Hazlehurst scrapped its offense and went for more of a spread look.
“A lot of people didn’t like the idea of changing up from the Wing-T to the spread, but they saw the results and shut their mouths very quickly,” Young said. “When the wins started rolling in I can remember I didn’t hear anybody talking about the spread.”
Young said Montgomery inherited a solid program, which won the Class 3A state title in 2005, and reaped the benefits of a solid Pee Wee program. He said Montgomery was able to maintain the program’s tradition thanks to a “detail-oriented” system. He feels Montgomery will be able to relate well to the players.
Franklin County football coach Chris Calcote also coached against Montgomery in Class 3A, Region 7. He agreed with Young that Montgomery is “very organized” and does a “real good job” as a coach. He said he enjoyed watching the Indians warm up before games and always saw them working on fundamentals and techniques that helped the players improve.
“He is a class act,” Calcote said. “I am very impressed with him and professionally over the years when we have played them the last couple of years.”
Robert Holloway, assistant athletic director for the MHSAA and umpire coordinator for the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges, has known Montgomery for several years. He has evaluated him as an umpire and recommended Montgomery attend a camp to get training to be a professional umpire. He said Montgomery worked last season as an umpire in the MACJC, and that this season he will join the Division I ranks as an umpire in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the Southland Conference.
“He is a no-nonsense type of guy,” Holloway said. “He is trying to get the job done. He had the look of an umpire (when he evaluated him). As a coach, I found him to be a disciplined person and disciplined with his kids.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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