Pope: Peach County picks a winner in Pollard
Macon native Al Pollard is not afraid to make a move. The former Central and Georgia football standout took over as the principal at Peach County on Wednesday after serving in a similar role for the past five years, four in Atkinson County and one in Dougherty County.
It’s not the first time Pollard has made a change for hopefully a better opportunity dating back to his high school days. Pollard started at Mark Smith, playing for the late Minton Williams as a freshman before integration. As a sophomore, he attended Northeast but was unable to play football due to an elbow injury, and then as a junior, he played for the Raiders under Donald Fendley.
Following that season, he began looking for a new school to attend and had all intentions of transferring to Warner Robins and actually had worked out with the team that summer. When then-Demons head coach Frank Orgel told Pollard that they had two good running backs and he was going to be moved to tight end, Pollard changed direction and landed at Central. His father Gene, who was an outstanding athlete himself as a seven-year minor league baseball player, was a good friend with Chargers assistant Tommy Mixon, who helped facilitate the move.
Under GHSA rules, a player must live in the same district where he attends high school, and for Pollard’s senior season, his family moved into an apartment complex in the Central district.
The transfer to Central proved to be an excellent decision for the then 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back. He helped lead the “Goot” Steiner coached Chargers to an 11-1-1 record and the Class AAA title game, where they lost to Lakeside-Atlanta 36-25. In the championship game, he rushed for 89 yards.
The week prior in the state semifinals, he carried the ball 29 times for 126 yards, and the Chargers defeated the top-ranked Moultrie Packers 16-15 on penetration. As a side note, Pollard carried the ball 41 times against Warner Robins in a 10-7 victory.
Pollard, who finished the season with 1,229 yards rushing, was named to the Class AAA all-state first team, along with three Central teammates: linebacker Neil Callaway, punter David Barbere and place-kicker David Taylor.
Following his prep days, Pollard headed to Georgia on a football scholarship. He was a three-year letterman for the Bulldogs and was the starting fullback on the 1976 SEC championship team. In the SEC title-clinching victory over Auburn, Pollard rushed for 158 yards on 27 carries in the 28-0 decision. The following week against rival Georgia Tech, he had a team-high 112 yards on 24 carries on a 13-10 victory. Legendary Georgia head coach Vince Dooley has called Pollard the best blocking fullback he coached in his 25 years as the Bulldogs’ head coach.
Following his Georgia playing days, Pollard was a graduate assistant for the Bulldogs before joining Erk Russell’s first staff at Georgia Southern and served as the Eagles’ running backs coach. From Georgia Southern, Pollard moved into the high school ranks, coaching baseball and football at Jonesco Academy for three years. He won the GISA Class AA baseball title in 1984 and the following season duplicated the feat at Robert Toombs.
Pollard played baseball at Northeast and Central and was chosen to play for the East team in the East-West All-Star game following his senior season with the Chargers.
Pollard’s other coaching stops have included Briarwood in Thomson, Windsor, Calhoun, Griffin, Social Circle and Banks County.
After earning his doctorate in 2008, Pollard got his start in administration at Wayne County in Jesup.
Peach County knows a lot about winning, and I think it has picked a winner in Pollard.
Contact Bobby Pope at bobbypope428@gmail.com
This story was originally published June 29, 2015 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Pope: Peach County picks a winner in Pollard."