Roughly two years ago, when he was hired, Columbus High School head football coach Randal Montgomery promised his team would compete for championships
Even Montgomery admits the Falcons are ahead of schedule.
Columbus will host a first-round Mississippi High School Activities Association playoff game for the first time in program history Friday night. Columbus (8-3) will play host to Clinton (7-4) in a 7 p.m. start at Falcon Field.
The game may be heard locally on WMSV-FM (91.1), beginning at 6:40 p.m.
“To have a home playoff game means a lot,” Columbus junior running back Kylin Hill said. “Coach reminded us after the game last week that not every team is in the playoffs…it’s an honor to be playing at home.”
Columbus will be playing its second-ever playoff game at home. In 2005, Columbus won a first-round road game before falling to South Panola at home in the second round. Overall, Columbus has two playoff wins in its history.
“We might be slightly ahead of schedule,” said Montgomery, who is 12-10 in two seasons at CHS. “That’s a fair assessment. This group of kids and coaches have worked extremely hard. It may be the best practicing team I have ever had. The plan is solid. The kids know what is expected of them when they take the field.”
Columbus won four games in Montgomery’s first season. The Falcons saw hopes of a playoff berth dashed with a late-season loss to Northwest Rankin. Since that defeat, Columbus has won seven straight games at home.
“Playing at home is huge for us,” Columbus junior quarterback C.J. Gholar said. “The fans really give us a big lift. I think the adrenaline is a little higher when you are playing home. Everybody is pleased about what has happened this season. But we want to keep going.”
Most likely, it will be the final game at home this season. Columbus would travel to either Olive Branch or Starkville in the second round of the playoffs. A potential rematch with No. 1 South Panola could come in the third round. That game would be played in Batesville.
Last season, Clinton beat Columbus 41-17 when the two teams were both Class 6A, Region 2 rivals. Columbus was down one score in the closing seconds of the first half on that night.
This season’s Clinton team finished third in Region 2 thanks to a two-point loss to Warren Central and a 45-7 setback at Starkville. Junior quarterback Cam Akers, an Alabama commitment, has missed the last two games for Clinton but is expected to play Friday night. Akers threw for 108 yards and rushed for 115 yards in last season’s win.
South Panola beat Columbus 35-13 for the Falcons’ only loss in Class 6A, Region 1 play. Columbus won the other six region games, including a 44-24 come-from-behind win over Hernando last Friday night.
“It was important to get that win going into the playoffs,” Gholar said. “We didn’t want to have that feeling of back-to-back losses.”
Gholar threw for a season-high 238 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Hill continued to show why he is one of the state’s top recruits with two more touchdowns. He has now scored 10 of his 13 rushing touchdowns in the team’s last four games.
Overall, Columbus should be primed and ready. The Falcons are finally healthy on both sides of the ball. Junior running back Kendre Conner is back after missing three games earlier in the season with an ankle injury. Senior free safety Hezekiah Manigo is back after missing last week’s game with a knee injury.
Columbus has found the right balance on offense with Hill over 1,300 yards on the ground and Gholar over 1,100 yards in the air. The defense continues to be one of the best in Class 6A.
The team is also battle-tested. In three of the six region games, Columbus has erased a double-digit deficit to win.
“The kids have seen it all,” Montgomery said. “That is what I like most about this team. We have been just about every situation. We have played with big leads. We have rallied from big deficits. We have had game-winning drives. We had a game-winning field goal. The bigger the game, the better the kids have played. We will need that experience Friday night.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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