Mary Montgomery shows what Zach Golson has built cannot easily be torn down

 

 

 

 

By JIMMY WIGFIELD

SEMMES — After six depressing months in which it seemed the brakes had been pressed on the progress Mary G. Montgomery’s football team had made in the last four years, the Vikings mashed the accelerator once again on Thursday night.

Unveiling perhaps the most inexperienced team MGM has had in those four years, the Vikings ran over Ocean Springs 43-20 in the spring game and demonstrated they were unfazed by the week’s tumultuous events and those that preceded it.

The gathering gloom for the Vikings began in November, when their offseason abruptly began with a 54-0 loss to Thompson in the state playoffs.

Then, star skill player Jakenyon Allen and quarterback Thad Wilder transferred to Williamson in the offseason, exacerbating the loss of nearly every starter on both sides of the football.

And, most seriously of all, head coach Zach Golson — the mastermind behind one of the most stupendous turnarounds in state history — was put on paid administrative leave Monday during an investigation that started when a rival school turned him in to the Alabama High School Athletic Association on accusations that he had recruited players.

The ignominy of Golson being escorted off the campus on Monday without being allowed to address his team left his coaches seething over what they called excessively punitive and humiliating treatment.

“Like he was a criminal,” said one of those coaches, who pointed out the charges have not been proven.

The 2026 team has likewise not been proven but the victory over the Greyhounds in the spring game showed what Golson had built in four years — a 37-10 overall record and a 23-3 region record with two championships — cannot be easily torn down.

“I’m proud of the guys from the start of the day to the finish,” interim coach Alex Page said after the resounding victory. “All our coaches were extremely helpful. I just lean on them and we work well together. A lot of that comes from coach Golson, what he taught us and showed us from his leadership. You have to model yourself after somebody and he showed me a lot of good things.”

MGM displayed a power running game behind Kam Smith and Deshaun Rankin, quarterback Connor Tillman provided some efficient balance and the starting defense turned Ocean Springs into a trickle.

Smith scored on a 9-yard run and Tillman on a 25-yard keeper after faking to Smith in a first half the Vikings’ starters won 14-7.

In the second half, which highlighted backup and JV players, quarterback Chad Shrimpshire threw touchdown passes of 25 yards to Rankin, 17 yards to tight end Michael Tingle and 25 yards to receiver Jordan King and running back D.J. Foster scored from 25 yards out.

“I feel like the physicality was there,” Page said. “I’m sure there’s some technical things we could do better but that will come with experience and reps throughout the summer. … We definitely got better. There is a lot of guys touching it on offense. I like how it’s balanced and we just handled the ball well.”

Tillman acknowledged playing a game helped soften the impact of the week’s events.

“There’s been a lot of adversity but it just feels good to come out here and get a win,” he said. “We prepared for this. I mean every day is hard. Football’s a hard sport. … We went out there and we executed the things we needed to do and we just got the job done.”

Page’s starting defense — he served four years as Golson’s defensive coordinator — played fast and physical, was rarely out of position and tackled well.

“Defensively, we pretty much lost everybody, so those guys really answered the call all the way,” Page said. “Our goals were to tackle well and get off blocks well and force some turnovers, which we did.”

The game drew a sparse crowd but among them was Saraland coach Jeff Kelly and some of his staff, who sat atop the bleachers and scouted the Vikings, as the top two teams in the Mobile area over the last three years will open the season against each other on Aug. 21 in Semmes.

Whether Golson will be on MGM’s sideline — and the prevailing feeling of those on the inside is that he won’t — didn’t negate the feeling that Thursday night’s game was played under his large shadow. Petitions are circulating in the community demanding that Golson be retained.

“When coach Golson left, our team didn’t fall apart,” Smith said. “We stayed together. It just brought us closer and made us stronger. It ain’t gonna affect nothing. We’re gonna have that urge to kill every team that comes our way. Of course, we were a little mad but we had a spring game coming up and we didn’t want that to affect us.”

Tillman said the team cannot wallow in the past.

“We lost our coach,” he said. “It sucks. Life’s got to go on, you know. We love coach Golson but we don’t know what really happened. … I think we’re still gonna be a competitive team. We have a lot of grit and a lot of heart. We have a bunch of players in here that want it real bad.”

Page was sickened by watching Golson being escorted off campus but said they talk daily.

“I call him about every night and we talk and just run through everything,” Page said. “We check in on each other because it’s a lot. We just want to be there for each other.”

While Page said the players’ response to adversity is something that Golson ingrained in them, he still wasn’t sure how they’d react to Monday’s jolting developments.

“After I told them, I didn’t know exactly what would happen but I just went off the practices,” Page said. “Practices were great. With that being said, I knew they were going to play pretty well.”

Smith said Vikings fans should continue to expect that even without Golson.

“It’s going to be great,” he said. “Whether he’s here or not, we’re gonna be great.”