By Kam Willer
LocalSportsJournal.com
The Montague Wildcats and Oakridge Eagles eagerly met on Friday night for a highly anticipated West Michigan Conference matchup.
The Wildcats explosive speed was too much for Oakridge, resulting in a 33-7 Wildcat win.
”We knew they were big up front but our strength is getting our speed to the outside,” said first-year Montague Coach Justin Dennett.
Montague senior Tugg Nichols exemplified that speed on the outside with five catches for 93 yards and a score. Dylan Everett ran for 59 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Montague quarterback Andrew Kool went 13 of 19 passing for 173 yards and three scores.
The Wildcat offense wasn’t the only unit that stood out.
Montague’s defense forced two interceptions and multiple turnovers on downs to set up the Wildcats in prime field position throughout the game.
“Our defense is very smart,” said Dennett. “If they saw something we didn’t prepare for, they didn’t panic and stuck to our rules.”.
Montague’s defense held Oakridge to 198 total yards led by linebacker Aaron Rolf with seven tackles and two for a loss.
The Wildcats struck early with a TD reception by junior Owen Peterson from Kooi.
Montague led 20-7 by halftime as Nichols ran in a 19-yard TD pass and connected on a 30-yard pass that set up a 16-yard scoring run by Dylan Everett before halftime.
Adam Baird Jr. opened the second half with a kickoff return that took him all the way to the Eagles 27 yard line. Everett capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
After stuffing Oakirdge on the 22 yard line, Colton Blankstrom connected with Kooi for a 16-yard TD pass for Montague.
“Our defense really settled in over the past couple games, and our offense is starting to find its groove,” said Dennett of his team’s performance,
Sophomore Trevor Jones led the Eagles in rushing with 57 yards on seven carries. Jones and Taeven Watson both led the team with seven tackles each.
Check out photos from the Montague win shot by Joe Lane.
