'Like a dream': Island Coast baseball celebrates state title with school pep rally

It all started with what Clint Montgomery described as a silly Instagram video.

Seeking to lighten the mood of his squad after a tough road stretch to start the season, the Island Coast head baseball coach and huge professional wrestling fan put together a hype video advertising their home opener.

With an intense voice that disguised his country twang, Montgomery opened the video “ripping off his fifth set of 200 push-ups” before lifting a hammer and declaring the Gators needed fans’ support as they prepared to “drop the hammer” on their opponent. The video concluded with a chant from the players.

READ: Island Coast becomes first Lee County public school to win state baseball championship

WATCH: Island Coast makes history with first state championship in win over Jensen Beach

“The kids just kind of saw a different side of me,” Montgomery said. “From that point on, we were just looser around each other, and we got on a roll… I think that was the day we came together as a group.”

The rest is literal history as the Gators became the first Lee County public school to win a state championship in baseball after taking down Jensen Beach 8-7 just before 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

On Friday, Island Coast held a pep rally to celebrate the championship, which was just as much about the big picture for the high school as it was about the team.

“From day one, this was a mission for this school,” Montgomery told a raucous gymnasium. “It wasn’t about the baseball team ever. It was about us being a vessel that shined great light on this school because I love this place and I love you guys.”

Montgomery delivered an energized speech before acknowledging every member of the team and coaching staff. He then handed out awards to the team’s top players – Jordi Guerrero, Eddie Boe Rodriguez, Jake Mueller, Emilio Gonzalez and the unanimous choice for MVP, Kevin Martinez.

“It was a great experience having your whole school backing you up, everybody supporting you,” Martinez said.

Martinez said it took some time for the reality of the Gators’ achievement to sink in.

“The first two days, it felt like we were in a movie,” he said. “It felt like a dream, but now it’s like, you start realizing, we really did it, we accomplished history. This is the best feeling any player could have.”

The team is open about having a chip on their shoulder with how the school is viewed within the county.

“A lot of these kids — this wasn’t their first choice school,” Montgomery said. “It was kind of like destiny that someone from higher powers put all these kids together from different schools and stuff and really just made an outstanding team that gelled together and played well.”

PHOTOS: Island Coast baseball wins FHSAA Class 4A state championship vs. Jensen Beach

Players credited Montgomery with how he used that to motivate them throughout the season.

“We played with a lot of confidence," Rodriguez said. "You have to work hard to have that confidence, and Clint Montgomery pushes us every single day to be the best people we can be and he puts us in the best possible situation to succeed.”

“When we’ve had a bad game, every speech touches us, touches our heart,” Gonzalez said of his coach.

Despite the team’s us-against-the-world mentality, Montgomery expressed appreciation for area coaches whom he described as allies throughout the Gators’ run to the state title.

“It was just such a humbling moment to see all these coaches rally around me and my team,” he said.

The team will return four of its stars in Guerrero, Gonzalez, Mueller, and Martinez next year, ensuring that the Gators will continue to threaten at the top.

“The brotherhood that we have, all the returning guys, I think it should be a good year next year,” Mueller said.

Montgomery’s primary goal is to figure out how to win the first game of the season. From there, you can expect the Gators to do what they’ve long done under Montgomery by giving themselves chances to contend.

“I’ve always believed that I could win here, and I’ve always won here,” he said. I didn’t know if we would ever reach this level or anything like that, but I knew I always had a good program and that we would always be knocking on the door, and all you got to do is get to the door. And then you never know when you bust through, and this was our year.”

Follow News-Press Sports Reporter Dustin Levy on Twitter: @DustinBLevy. For additional coverage of sports across Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Island Coast baseball celebrates state title with school pep rally