Darke, Olson combine to lead Montague over Ravenna

By Craig Beilfuss
LocalSportsJournal.com

MONTAGUE–Montague sophomore quarterback Mason Darke torched the Ravenna defense on Thursday evening.

Darke completed 13-of-15 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns and the Wildcats hung on in the final minute to get by the Bulldogs, 39-34.

Montague wide receiver senior Paul Olson was Darke’s primary target with six receptions, including a pair of touchdowns. He finished with 184 receiving yards. The Wildcats racked up a total of 432 offensive yards.

“I don’t even know what to say, that is like we won, so we’re extremely happy,” said an elated Montague coach Justin Dennett. “That was just an ugly, crazy, chaotic game.”

But, the play of Darke was certainly a bright spot.

Montague football coach Justin Dennett (Photo/Leo Valdez)

“He made some great plays tonight,” Dennert said. “We started out quick and scored on the first three drives. You know things were rolling and then they kind of figured us out for a little bit. We had to make some changes and he made two big throws to start that second half to Olson.

“Olson made a heck of a play on both of them and that kind of pulled us away enough to hold on and get the win. But he (Darke) made some great plays throughout the game,” he said.

The Wildcats raced out to a 14-0 lead, eventually led 14-7 after the first quarter and carried a 20-7 lead into halftime.

Montague added to the lead in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns while Ravenna kept things close with a score. The Wildcats led 33-14 heading into the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs mounted a huge comeback to get within five points with just under three minutes remaining.

Ravenna found the end zone for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter while the Wildcats scored once. Montague secured the win during the final minute when the Bulldogs lost possession of the ball on a fumble while driving in Wildcat territory.

Ravenna coach Justin Ego (Photo/Leo Valdez)

“They’re good, (Montague),” said Ravenna coach Justin Ego. “At the end of the day, it’s what the scoreboard says that counts. We had a chance to win it there at the end, but it was kind of a bummer all the way around, the way it ended.

“I’m just proud of the guys for the way they battled all the way to the end. We were down 19 with a quarter left to go and our guys never quit. We had a chance to win, just fell short. We just need to come out a little quicker and get some stops on defense and we’ll be all right.”

Junior Ryver Jarka led the Montague defense with seven tackles, while Olson chipped in four tackles.

Montague (1-1) will travel to Orchard View (2-0) next Friday for a West Michigan Conference-Lakes matchup while Ravenna (0-2) will host Holton (0-2) in a West Michigan Conference-Rivers matchup.