For the Columbus High School football team, the crossroads of the season have now been reached.
On paper, it had the potential to be the best team in a program with very little to brag about. The Falcons began the season in everybody’s Top 10 and on the second grouping of teams in consideration as a favorite for the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A state championship.
The Falcons had new uniforms, a new track, a new attitude. This was the year to take flight.
Now, with the Class 6A, Region 1 opener at DeSoto Central two days away, we are fixing to find out just how good Columbus really is.
Columbus will begin region play at 2-2 overall for a second straight season. While so much more was expected from this flock of Falcons, you can’t really call a second straight 2-2 start a backwards step.
Columbus was dominant in every fashion in wins over Kemper County and New Hope. Those can’t be disputed.
The two losses were to West Point and Noxubee County by a combined five total points. A year ago, Columbus lost to those two teams by a combined 27 points. So let’s call that progress.
Columbus only led 3-0 last season at West Point before losing 13-3. Columbus never led at Noxubee County in a 25-8 loss.
This season, Columbus held a lead in the final eight minutes of a 24-23 loss to Noxubee County and the final six minutes of a 17-13 loss to West Point.
Again on paper, Class 6A, Region 1 does not exactly strike fear in your hearts. Columbus benefited from early confidence and a down region to post a 6-1 mark in region play. The lone loss was at South Panola and very competitive.
Horn Lake is 5-0, while both Tupelo and Hernando each stand at 4-0. DeSoto Central and Southaven are both 4-1. Overall, the eight teams in the region are a combined 24-13. Many of the schools in the region fill the non-region schedule with teams from Tennessee so it can sometimes be hard to judge who is good and who is not.
We do know this much. A year ago, Tupelo won six games and now they already have four. A year ago, Horn Lake won two games and they now have five.
If Columbus had simply made one more play and snagged victories over both Noxubee County and West Point, it would be off to arguably the best start in the state and would most likely be ranked No. 1 or No. 2 behind Clinton.
On the field, Randal Montgomery has firmly put his print on the Columbus program. From the seventh grade on up, Montgomery is slowly building a power. The junior high teams have been winning regularly by impressive fashion this season.
The team is disciplined, well-coached and plays hard for four quarters. One criticism of past Columbus teams was a knack to take plays off and to give in when adversity hit. That is no longer the case. If nothing else when the final horn sounds, if you are an opponent, you know you have been in a battle.
Despite the lofty accolades, Columbus did have a bevy of questions entering the season:
Will C.J. Gholar be able to throw the ball well enough to be an elite quarterback in Class 6A?
Gholar has made tremendous strides. A lot of drops are hurting some of the passing numbers down. In four games, Gholar has been intercepted once.
He has always been smart in the pocket. Now he has grown, developed and matured, becoming more of a legitimate passing threat.
Will Kendre Conner be at 100 percent?
Lost in the shuffle of last season’s success was an injury to running back Kendre Conner, which knocked him out of one-third of the season and slowed him for even longer than that.
Conner has more bulk than fellow back Kylin Hill and was known for lowering the head and punishing people. His lower body strength may be the best in Class 6A. Hill does it more with finesse and speed, while Conner does it more by flat running over people.
Conner has looked good through four games and certainly looks healthy. He is actually the team’s leading rusher to date. An ability to take the pressure off Hill with the play of both Gholar and Conner is essential.
Will the two Division I commitments on the team play like Division I commitments?
After running for 1,801 yards a year ago, everyone was waiting on the encore from Mississippi State commitment Hill. Hill missed one game with a minor injury and actually has only 279 yards. However, he does have two kick-return scores.
A year ago, Hill ate this region for lunch. Look for more of the same in the weeks ahead.
On the defensive side of the ball, there is no mistaking Southern Mississippi commitment Tahj Sykes. Sykes has been a wrecking crew on other team’s offenses and so far has gotten a lot of help.
When will the offensive line click?
Easily, the biggest question of the season was how quickly a rebuilt offensive line would get things going for Hill and Conner.
In the first two games, Columbus rushed for 315 yards. In the last two games, the number is 654.
A year ago, Columbus had the second-best line play in the region, behind only South Panola. To get this squad to that level will be challenge. However, it is doable.
So many questions but no more time to figure things out.
Region play is here. Time to see how far this team can go.
Scott Walters is a sports writer for The Dispatch. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.