Columbus High School is in the market for a new football coach after Tony Stanford resigned Thursday.
“After 38 years of coaching you know when it is time to move on,” Stanford said. “The administration asked me to step down, so I did just that. Now they can go about getting somebody else in here.”
Columbus finished 4-7 and 2-5 in Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 play this season. The Falcons had quality wins — a 20-16 victory against Lowndes County rival New Hope and a dominating 41-14 victory against West Point, but they also had disappointing losses — namely a 13-6 region loss to Northwest Rankin — that kept the team out of the postseason.
“Sometimes a team does not come together for whatever reason,” Stanford said after a 28-9 loss to Jackson Murrah sealed the playoff fate. “We had stretches where we played really well, but we couldn’t do it consistently. It’s a great group of kids and they have worked extremely hard all season. Sometimes a team does not have that ‘it’ factor. We really struggled to put it together on a consistent basis.”
Senior Trace Lee got his first snaps as a starting quarterback on the varsity level during the 2012 season. Lee and Cedrick Jackson alternated as Columbus advanced to the Class 6A playoffs for the first time since 2005.
“Coach Stanford has been a great coach and leader for me throughout my past four years in high school,” Lee said. “He has taught me discipline and also how to be more of a vocal leader. Although he is a great coach, I love him as a man and friend as well.
“Whether it be making jokes with him or having serious questions, I always felt comfortable around him. He has been a great encourager for me no matter the outcome of a game. I appreciate his dedication and leadership more than he knows.”
While Columbus advanced to the playoffs in 2012, good news came when realignment bumped Columbus out of Class 6A, Region 1 with South Panola, Southaven and Olive Branch and into Class 6A, Region 2, where Madison Central is the only traditional power.
However, the Falcons couldn’t take advantage of the change of scenery in their first season.
“I am pleased with the four years I had here,” said Stanford, who had a 22-23 record as a head coach. “I thought we got better each year. Even though we didn’t do as well as we wanted to this year, the kids were always real competitive. We are way ahead of where Columbus was when I arrived here six years ago.”
Stanford spent two seasons on Bubba Davis’ staff as defensive coordinator before being elevated to the spot for the 2010 season. Stanford is most known for a 15-year coaching stint at Louisville, including eight seasons as head coach of the Wildcats.
“I learned a lot under coach Stanford,” said East Mississippi Community College sophomore cornerback Byerson Cockrell, who was a senior in 2011 at Columbus High. “He did a great job of coaching you up without beating you down. He definitely knew how to motivate and he was such a great influence. We had some good teams there and we had some good times there.”
Columbus won four games in Davis’ two seasons as head coach. Stanford followed with a 4-7 mark in 2010. In 2011, Columbus had its first winning season since 2007 when it finished 7-4. That squad missed the playoffs. A year later, Columbus again won seven games but made the playoffs, losing a first-round game at Madison Central.
Stanford hopes there is more magic left for his next coaching staff.
“I still feel like I have something to give,” Stanford said. “It may be as an assistant coach somewhere, but I still want to keep going. This is what I do. It has been an incredible experience everywhere I have been.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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