#HSFT17: Stop No. 59 – Columbus Falcons

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) — There will be some new faces on the sidelines and on the field at Columbus in 2017.

As year 3 kicks off under Randal Montgomery at Columbus, the Falcons bid farewell to a 20-man senior class that helped lead the program to their first back to back playoff appearances since 2001.

It’s a work in progress with the new group moving up but Coach Mont has high hopes for this year’s team.

“We knew what kind of year we’re facing with the seniors we lost,” Montgomery said. “We had them from their 10th grade year. We knew we were going to break in a young team but they’ve grown and learned what it takes to practice and work. Now, we have to get to Friday nights and get them game experience.”

And it may be as simple as that: getting reps for a young team.

Columbus certainly has the athletes and the talent to be a playoff team once again but it will be a trial by fire early on for the Bird Gang.

“They’re young and really talented,” Montgomery said about his team. “There’s just no substitute for game experience. We have guys that will play Thursday night that haven’t even stood on a sideline on a Friday night and they’ll be asked to play under the lights against a very good West Point team.”

And expect Coach Montgomery to rely heavily on star seniors Kenneth Martin at receiver and running back Pat Jackson as Columbus works in a new quarterback in the up and coming junior LT Stowers.

“Those guys have been in the fire,” Montgomery said of Martin and Jackson. “They’ve played under the lights, they’ve scored touchdowns and made big plays for us. That eases the pain of having guys you can rely on that won’t be nervous or won’t make first year mistakes. We’ll lean heavily on them and they know that already.”

Columbus certainly expects to be in the playoff hunt out of Region 1-6A once again but Coach Montgomery reiterates that his team will take time to gel & improve as they go through non-division play.

“Key word for everybody is patience,” coach Montgomery said. “We have guys that will play that haven’t been on a sideline because they played 9th grade football and some haven’t played meaningful snaps. Sometimes, we’ll have to take the good with the bad and as coaches we have to stay in the fight and keep coaching them up and do the best we can.”

The Falcons kickoff the season with our Thursday Night Showcase game at West Point then finish up August with a road trip to Noxubee County.