It might not be the time for absolutes, but the Columbus High School football team needs to start winning games in Class 6A, Region 2 if it is going to advance to the playoffs.
Columbus slipped to 1-5 and 0-2 in the region following a 41-17 loss to Clinton last week. At 7 tonight, Columbus will play host to Northwest Rankin (2-4, 0-2) in a game that could eliminate the loser from finishing in the top four in the region and securing a playoff berth.
“I don’t know if you would consider it a must-win,” Montgomery said. “Every game we play we like to consider it a must-win. But for us to reach our postseason goals, I guess you could say it is a game we really need to take care of and try to get a W in.”
For Columbus, tonight’s game is part of a five-game stretch of winnable games, at least as far as Columbus coach Randal Montgomery sees it. Montgomery, who is in his first season as head coach at the school after spending three years as head coach at Hazlehurst, felt all of the region games were winnable at the beginning of the season. Losses to Starkville and Clinton haven’t changed his thinking.
Next week, Columbus will go to Greenville-West before returning home to play host to Madison Central. It will close the regular season with games against Jackson Murrah and Warren Central. With Starkville all but assured the top spot in the region, that leaves seven teams to fight it out for three playoff spots.
Montgomery feels his team, which moved the ball against Clinton only to have a kickoff return right before halftime and an inability to field a kickoff, need to develop better focus to eliminate mistakes that continue to hamper its cause.
“We have to learn to play four quarters,” Montgomery said. “We are playing well in spurts and it is not good enough for us.”
Montgomery said he liked that his team didn’t panic after falling behind 13-0. A score with a couple of minutes left in the second quarter helped the Falcons cut the deficit to 13-7. Unfortunately, he said Columbus lost its focus and the players moved out of their lanes and allowed a back-breaking score right before halftime.
Still, Columbus was set to re-gain the momentum when it received the kickoff in the third quarter. But Montgomery said the Falcons failed to catch a kickoff and allowed Clinton to recover. The Arrows capitalized on the mistake and scored again to all but secure the victory.
Montgomery feels game experience will help his team improve its focus. With a young squad, that can be a slow process, but it is a progression Montgomery feels Columbus can make, regardless of which region team is next.
“We have seen throughout the season when we are playing our best ball it is kind of hard to stop us, offensively and defensively,” Montgomery said. “Those times and spurts when we don’t execute like we are capable of executing, that’s when teams take advantage. … I think the kids need to play well and continue to play well throughout the course of a ballgame. I think that is what is going to help us take the next step.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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