Jones, Montgomery will go seperate ways

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 17, 2011 1:47 PM

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The lasting impression Andre Montgomery and Freddie Jones have left on Goldsboro High School's football program stretches well beyond wins, conference championships, touchdowns and rushing yards.

Cougars' head coach Eric Reid described the dynamic running back duo as, "a pillar in our program."

On Wednesday, Montgomery and Jones took the next step in their football careers by signing national letters-of-intent with Fayetteville State and Johnson C. Smith, respectively.

Montgomery and Jones combined to rush for 8,774 yards and scored 126 touchdowns. Goldsboro went 32-10-1 with two Carolina 1-A Conference championships and three straight playoff appearances during their three seasons on the varsity level.

"These two young men were the key to us coming back to respectability," said Reid. "They are two fine young men. I knew I never had to worry about classroom problems or problems out in the community. They are very mature, humble individuals to be as talented as they are."

Montgomery joins Goldsboro teammates Jarran Reed and Michael Sykes, who recently signed with Fayetteville State. A family atmosphere in the Broncos' program and the opportunity to compete against Jones in the CIAA attracted Montgomery to Fayetteville State.

The Broncos finished 5-5 in 2010 including a 4-3 mark in conference play.

"It's going to be fun to play with Jarran and Michael for another four years," said Montgomery. "It impacted my decision a lot. I know that I'll know someone there. That program is a family and in the school there's a lot of one-on-one teaching and smaller classes."

A Shrine Bowl selection this past season, Montgomery finished his career with 4, 710 rushing yards on 503 carries and 64 touchdowns. He rushed for 100 yards or more in 23 games and had 19 games with two or more touchdowns.

"Playing at Goldsboro helped me a lot," said Montgomery. "I feel like my vision on the field and hitting holes quickly has really improved. At the beginning of my career I was looking up to Hykeem Coley and Anthony Council, and that really drove me."

Jones saw the opportunity to play at Johnson C. Smith rather than following his teammates to Fayetteville State as a chance to create a fresh start. The Golden Bulls went 2-8 in 2010 with a 1-6 record in conference play.

"I felt like it was time to make a new start," said Jones. "I felt like it was time for me to go somewhere where nobody knows me and I can come and show I have talent. And, I get to play against three of my old teammates."

Jones rushed for 4,064 yards on 429 yards and 62 touchdowns in his career at Goldsboro. He had 21 games of 100 yards or more and 18 games with two more touchdowns.

A long-time friend with Montgomery, Jones relishes the memories the two have made and the challenge of competing in the same conference for the next four seasons.

"I know Andre is going to call me after every game and tell me how he did and I'm going to call him and tell him how I did," said Jones. "If he did better than I did, the next game I'm still going to have to try to do better than him. When we play against each other, that's when it's really going to show.

"Andre made me better than I was before, and he was the one that made me push myself and make myself better."