BUFORD – Months ago, when teams configured non-region schedules for the next pair of seasons, second-year Seckinger head coach Tony Lotti received a call from a name he knew well.
West Hall head coach Krofton Montgomery came calling. He spent time as Lotti’s apprentice in nearby Oakwood, Ga. and wanted to get the two teams on the calendar. Lotti saw advantages in the opportunity, including a return to a place he rebuilt. Lotti hadn’t been on those sidelines since 2017 after moving on to Apalachee and later Seckinger.
“The only stipulation is that you have to play here the first year,” Montgomery told Lotti when discussing the home-on-home series.
Lotti might not have known why, but didn’t put up too much of a fight over the non-negotiable, either. Seckinger, a new program playing a region schedule for the first time in its young history, needed games to prepare itself for a daunting schedule in region 7-5A with the likes of Gainesville, Lanier, Milton and Roswell.
West Hall holds a special place in Lotti’s heart, too. As an assistant at Woodland in Stockbridge, Ga., he interviewed for his first head coaching position at Douglas County High School. He sat in his car after the discussion and had a weird feeling. Lotti, strong in his faith, didn’t feel like it matched the true calling throughout his coaching journey.
He sat in the parking lot, and a few moments went by. Lotti’s phone rang with former West Hall principal Scott Justus on the other line. He wanted to chat with Lotti, and the then-aspiring coach didn’t want to waste any time. Lotti made the pilgrimage from Douglasville to south Hall County on the same day.
Lotti and Justus spoke from anywhere from four-to-five hours. Lotti didn’t receive a job offer, but felt comfortable enough to tell his wife, Debbie Lotti, that he had found his first head-coaching opportunity and they had a move to make.
“Where in the (heck) is West Hall in Douglas County?” Tony recalled Debbie replying.
From 2012, a slew of memories and breakthroughs wrote the rest of Lotti’s story in Oakwood. He accrued 35 wins in Spartan blue and won a region title – the lone championship in school history – in 2014. West Hall honors the 10-year anniversary of the title during the 2024 season.
Therefore, when Montgomery called, Lotti accepted it in a matter of moments. It became full-circle a few moments later. One of Lotti’s best players was his son, Anthony Lotti, the team’s punter.
Anthony cranked out 70-yard punts with ease. He won All-State honors multiple times by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He averaged over 45 punts per season in his high school career. Those who coached Anthony at West Hall agreed on his status as one of the school’s most-decorated football players to wear the uniform.
Anthony played Division I football at Wisconsin. He started as a true freshman and played four seasons for Paul Chryst. He etched his name in Badgers’ lore as the fourth-best punter in program history. He posted a career-long punt of 63 yards.
After scheduling the game, Tony had the opportunity to put all of the pieces together. Montgomery called again. West Hall, on Aug. 16 against Seckinger, plans to retire Anthony’s number. He will become the third-ever Spartan to have a retired jersey number, including No. 7 Martrez Milner and No. 25 Hunter Atkinson.
“I knew that, as your friend,” Montgomery told Tony. “the only way I knew you’d be able to see it is for us to play. You’ve done a lot for me. There’s no way I’d have you miss this.”
Tony said without his presence being taken into consideration, Seckinger would be playing elsewhere to open the season. Montgomery said Tony had been instrumental in his coaching career.
“It’s awesome I get to share this moment with my dad,” Anthony said. “I couldn’t be more grateful to coach Montgomery for choosing the Seckinger game to do it.
“I just feel bad a punter has ruined it for anyone else who wanted to wear No. 14.”
After Montgomery’s time with Tony ended, he planned to follow his boss to Apalachee but received the opportunity to become head coach at West Hall less than 48 hours later. Nonetheless, he had to think twice before passing up on following Tony to Winder.
On Aug. 16, Seckinger and West Hall will battle with a primary goal of victory. Yet, Montgomery couldn’t pass up bringing two groups with history together.
“I am about honoring the past and sometimes letting the past help the future,” Montgomery said. “It can get lost very easily, so this is a win-win for all of us. It felt like the right thing to do.”
Anthony holds gratitude for the honor at a place he knew well. His father knew no one other than his son when taking the job at West Hall. Anthony, however, holds the mentality of most punters. He doesn’t favor much spotlight, and takes measures to avoid it.
The father-and-son duo, however, carry unforgettable moments. In Anthony’s senior season, the year after West Hall’s region title run, it played at Lumpkin County in a must-win game to earn a playoff berth. Anthony bombed a pair of 70-yard punts in the game that largely relied on field position as offenses struggled.
The game’s turning point came when he nailed Lumpkin County on its own 2-yard-line. West Hall came away with the victory. It needed help from another team to clinch, which the team didn’t know at the time. The result went final 10 minutes later and in the Spartans’ favor.
The Lottis had their final embrace in Spartan garb.
Eleven days will pass, and while times have changed, a final tribute creates itself on West Hall’s campus. Father and son reunite, Tony soaks in the old stomping grounds and No. 14 becomes immortal.
A simple call paid off.
“I am ecstatically proud of my son, and would be whether he picked up a football or not,” Tony said. “It’s going to be an emotional night, and it will bring everything full-circle for me.”
