Monday, Jan. 12, 2009

Greenwood football: Moving on, moving up

Tragedy has not slowed defensive end Montgomery

Sam Montgomery didn’t play football at Greenwood High his first two years.

The reason was simple. He wanted no part of longtime coach Shell Dula.

“I didn’t trust coach Dula. I hated everything he was about. We were like mortal enemies,” Montgomery said.

But a pair of family crises in the second semester of his sophomore year led him into the football offices looking for hope and salvation.

Reeling from the separation and subsequent divorce of his parents and the fatal shooting of his older brother outside of a Columbia club, Montgomery found both in the embrace of Dula and the Greenwood coaching staff.

Two years later, he has overcome the personal adversity and lack of experience on the football field to become an All-America defensive end, one of the nation’s top college recruits and a target of both USC and Clemson.

Montgomery is convinced the relationships he built with the football coaches saved him.

“They helped me get through my trials. That staff has pushed me in so many ways. They’re a vital part of my life,” he said.

And as for his former mortal enemy?

“Coach Dula and I became the perfect combo,” Montgomery said. “He was there for me. Now I look at him like a father.”

Montgomery’s own father, Sidney Montgomery, stepped out of his life after the divorce from his mother, Debra. He has not seen or heard from his father since his junior football season in the fall of 2007.

Debra Montgomery can attest to what Dula and his assistants have meant to her son.

“It was a very rough time for Sam,” she said. “I must admit, they really filled a major void in his life. Things had gotten very ugly.”

The entire family continues to deal with the death of oldest sibling John Adams, who was killed while working security at the 360 Sports Grill on Bush River Road in February 2007. Adams, who was 29, was one of five people shot, two fatally. The alleged shooter, Johnnie Walker Gaskins, is awaiting trial.

Later that year, Montgomery took his initial steps onto the football field for spring practice, and the coaches immediately knew he was a special athlete.

“There was no doubt the first day out there that he was going to be an outstanding football player,” said Dula, who retired after this past season to become executive director of the S.C. Athletic Coaches Association.

He would know. In over 30 years as a head coach, he won more than 250 games and six state championships — one with Ninety Six, two with Union, and three with Greenwood.

Montgomery’s first day turned into two great seasons. Using his 4.44 speed to terrorize quarterbacks and running backs, he piled up tackles and sacks.

“He plays with such a motor. He plays tremendously hard,” Dula said. “We never questioned his effort. We never questioned his intensity.”

Montgomery capped his high school career not only with the winning South Carolina team in the Shrine Bowl, but also he played in the Under Armour High School All-American Game a week ago in Orlando, Fla., where he had four tackles, one sack and forced a fumble that led to a touchdown.

“Sam has gotten better and better,” Dula said. “His potential is unreal.”

That upside has led to offers from schools across the country. Both South Carolina and Clemson are in the mix, but he is taking official visits to Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, LSU and Oregon. He will pick from those seven — all of which he is trying to view equally at this stage — after completing the visits later this month, announcing his choice soon after or perhaps waiting until signing day on Feb. 4.

Montgomery wants to play defensive end as opposed to linebacker or beefing up and moving to an interior spot on the line. He admits that versatility is part of what makes him attractive, but he feels that recruiters know his greatest strength is rushing the passer.

“People want me to play end, come off the edge and go get the quarterback,” he said.

Dula believes it’s important that Montgomery get stronger, but he is sure that will happen once he focuses on football at a higher level instead of splitting his time with basketball and track as he is now.

Montgomery also has discovered the same discipline in the classroom that he found on the football field after skating by academically his first two years at Greenwood.

“The thing we’re most proud of is how he’s turned it around academically,” said Dula.

His engaging personality leads him to speak from his heart. With some of the changes in the coaching staffs at the schools recruiting him, he admits that he wants to find a coach who can relate to him and shows a strong desire to bring him aboard. He also is looking for a school with a strong business program, with an eye on accounting as a potential career field.

“I have dreams of being a successful person,” he said.

While he admits that he’d love to play in the NFL, he sees that opportunity as a way to help others, citing Magic Johnson’s post-career work in inner-city business development. He would love nothing more than to make enough money to come back and build a new recreation center in the neighborhood where he grew up.

Greenwood County Parks and Recreation recently closed the R.L. Stevens facility where Montgomery spent much of his youth and where his mother had worked for 10 years. (She was transferred to a different rec center after the closing.)

“It was more than a place to play basketball. It was a symbol of hope for people in my neighborhood,” he said.

Montgomery credits the supportive atmosphere there for helping him reach his goals and giving him the opportunities now before him.

“I want to show the kids that this is possible,” he said. “It can be done. As long as you keep fighting, hope is still possible.”

Debra Montgomery isn’t surprised by her son’s big plays on the football field or his big dreams for the future.

“To be honest, Sam is just an athlete. In any sport he played growing up, he was good at it. He takes everything as a challenge,” she said. “He’s competitive, that he is, but he’s not afraid to lose because he learns from it.”

He got much of his outlook from his mother, who has refused to let their adversity rule her life either.

“It was a lot to deal with, but life goes on. You can’t afford to have a pity party for yourself,” she said.

Both she and her son have enjoyed the recruiting process, including interacting with fellow all-star players, coaching staffs and the fans. She and Dula both chuckle at Montgomery’s lack of awe. He grew up watching far more cartoons than ESPN, so he didn’t know who the big-name coaches were when they came calling.

But he is learning, and he has figured out it’s a big world out there. His mom understands if he decides to go somewhere across the country.

“It’ll have to be a place where he feels comfortable. I’ll go to see him play anywhere,” she said. “I told him the important thing is to get an education. At the end of the day, you can’t play football forever. You’ve got to have an education.”

Montgomery already has received tough life lessons after the death of his brother and his father leaving. Now he wants to prove to others that you can’t let that keep you from getting from where you want to go — wherever that may be.

“I kind of want to make a name for myself and be different. I want to forge my own path,” he said. “I want to show people that it can be done for this area and open up young kids’ eyes.”

Reach White at (803) 771-8643.

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