This week in HS Sports: Zach Golson credits foundation of faith for MGM’s quick turnaround

This is an opinion piece.

Zach Golson never put a timetable on how long it would take him to turn the Mary G. Montgomery football program into a winner.

Few could have expected it to take only two seasons.

Golson posted a winning record (6-5) in his first season at the school in 2022 and took the team to the postseason for the first time in two decades.

A year ago, the team started 12-0, won the first two playoff games in school history and reached the 7A state semifinals before losing to eventual champ Central-Phenix City.

“There was never a five-year plan or anything like that. I never thought about how many years it might take to do this or that,” Golson said this week on SportsTalk 99.5 in Mobile. “I felt good about the talent level we had and the talent I had played against here. I knew there were good players.

“I felt like if we could lock down our community and those kids believed in coming to MGM, we could only get better. It didn’t hurt to walk into the lockerroom and have Jared Hollins and James Bolton to be able to build your offense around. I would definitely say it’s been a fast build.”

The Vikings dominated Region 1 last fall, outscoring opponents 211-58 in a 6-0 season. The closest region game was a 24-10 win at Fairhope in mid-September. They outscored the competition 413-125 overall and knocked off Region 2 teams Dothan and Enterprise in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Certainly, the star QB-WR tandem of Hollins and Bolton deserve credit for the impossibly quick turnaround as does defensive stalwart John Robinson and the rest of the players and coaching staff as well as the community. But Golson believes there was something else at work as well.

“We put our faith in something bigger trying to do something that was even bigger than maybe we realized we could even do,” he said. “We kept praying that God would move a mountain. We rooted ourselves in our foundation of faith. At the end of the day, for something bigger to happen this fast, it’s become something more to me than just, ‘We did this.’ There was more at work. I was just thankful to be a part of it.”

The next question is what will Year 3 bring? MGM must replace 32 seniors, including Hollins, Bolton and Robinson. But Golson likes his new quarterback, junior Shondell Harris, who went 13-of-14 for 253 yards and 4 TDs in the spring game against Picayune, and he believes the skill will be there on both sides of the ball.

“I just tell the kids that we don’t have to be last year’s team,” Golson said. “Let’s just be the best version of this team and see where it goes. They’ve come to work everyday and tried to do everything we’ve asked them to do.”

MGM’s sudden success is a testament to how quickly a program can turn around with the right coaches and the work ethic and faith of the players.

On Monday, AL.com will begin breaking down each classification one-by-one and predicting the top 7 teams. We will start with 7A. Where will MGM rank?

Check out AL.com on Monday and vote for your champ.

Family legacy

Drew Gilmer has plenty of top players to coach when he was at Clay-Chalkville. His first Hoover team will be no different.

One of the top Bucs is junior wide receiver Jonah Winston, the younger brother of NFL quarterback Jameis Winston.

Jonah will play slot receiver for Hoover … among other things.

“We will play him all over the field,” Gilmer said. “He’s really talented. He reminds me of (former Clay receiver) Squirrel White. He’s very smart, practices hard, has elite speed. He may not have quite the elusiveness of a Mario Craver, but he’s stronger and more physical. Also, he’s just a good kid, much like Jaylen Mbakwe was for us last year at Clay. I could put him anywhere on the field and he would play that position and play it well.”

Winston is currently rated the No. 13 junior prospect in the state, according to the 247 composite rankings.

Good news for Riley

I exchanged text messages with former Fairhope star and current Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard last week.

He said he is finally healthy and ready for the 2024 season.

Leonard has been dealing with an ankle injury since September when he was the starting quarterback for Duke against, ironically, Notre Dame. He underwent a second surgery this spring to address a stress fracture that was beginning to develop.

Leonard and the Irish will open the season against former coach Mike Elko and Texas A&M on Aug. 31.

News and notes

Gadsden City has announced the hire of head baseball coach Robby Davis.

Will Pouncey, who was the head football coach at Highland Home for five seasons, has left to join the staff at Goshen. He was replaced by Justin Bragg, according to WSFA’s Rosie Langello. Bragg also is the baseball coach at the school.

Longtime AHSAA official Dewayne Roden died this week at age 67. Roden was a softball official for more than 20 years, a volleyball official for 17 and a basketball official for four. Prayers out to Roden’s family during their time of grief.

Congratulations to former UMS-Wright swimmer Paige Madden, who made the U.S. Olympic team for the second time this week.

Thought for the Week

“We’ve all searched for the light of day in the dead of night.

We’ve all found ourselves worn out from the same old fight.

We’ve all run to things we know just ain’t right.

There’s a better life.” -- Chainbreaker

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.