ALMEDIA – Montgomery is headed back to the District 4 Class A playoffs this year after missing out last year when the playoff field was reduced, and the Red Raiders tuned up nicely for next week’s district semifinal rematch against Muncy as they topped Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech 41-14.
Coltin Hans became the first receiver in school history to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season by hauling in 12 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way for Montgomery. Logan Almeida completed 14-of-23 passes for 216 yards and the three scores to Hans, while Colby Springman ran for 187 yards on just 10 carries and also scored twice.
The Red Raiders did all of this despite being at a nearly 15-minute disadvantage in time of possession, as CMVT once again held a decided advantage in time of possession. But, as has been the case many other times this year with the Rams, they were hurt by turnovers and big plays by their opponents, which largely negated their overwhelming advantage in time holding the ball.
“The rain always makes a big difference but guys came in focused and even during the rain I think they did pretty well, but once it stopped, it definitely made a big difference,” said Montgomery coach Christian Diggs. “In the beginning of the season, our running and passing games did pretty well but somewhere in there, our run game kind of slowed down so we put a lot of emphasis on that and focused on running the ball.
“Our backfield is blessed with some strength. They put a lot of time in the weight room and it showed on a lot of those plays.”
Montgomery started the game a little slow offensively as its passing game may have been a bit hindered by the driving rain that the game started in, but once the rain stopped, Montgomery’s offense shifted into high gear.
A sequence midway through the second quarter largely shifted the momentum of the game and set up the Red Raiders to gradually extend their lead. With Montgomery leading just 13-0 midway through the second quarter, the Rams’ Toby Zajac burst through a hole for a 52-yard gain and was tackled just shy of the goal line at the Montgomery 2-yard line.
But two plays later, the Rams fumbled a handoff and Montgomery recovered, and there plays after that, Springman burst loose for an 84-yard touchdown run, putting the Red Raiders up 21-0.
“That just seems to be the way things have gone this year,” said CMVT coach Mark Varner. “It was just a simple handoff. Some things were changed by the kids, thinking that since we were at the goal line, we we’re going to change some things fundamentally to get to the goal line quicker, and it threw off timing. That’s the way to learn that you don’t change things on your own because that cost us.”
Zajac ran 36 times for a season-high 219 yards, which helped the Rams hold onto the ball for 31:20. But, CMVT’s three turnovers directly led to 15 of Montgomery’s points, which was again too much to overcome.
“I thought our offensive line had its best game of the year against a good defense. Toby had a great game. I told him in the summer, I’m going to give him the ball 35 times a game,” said Varner. “I love my big guys carrying the ball. He’s hard to bring down. He’s a workhorse, and I’m going to keep feeding the monster. He’s going a great job. He doesn’t complain and that’s the type of athlete I like.”
The Rams did come up with a clutch stop on fourth down, stopping the Red Raiders at the CMVT 7-yard line on downs on their first drive. That helped negate the Rams losing a fumble on their first drive of the game. But CMVT also turned it over on downs on their ensuing drive, and Springman burst loose for a 48-yard touchdown run on the Red Raiders’ first play of their next drive to put Montgomery up 7-0 late in the first quarter.
The Red Raiders also scored on their next two drives with Hans hauling in his first touchdown of the afternoon, this one on a fourth-and-19 play from 25 yards out, and that was followed by Springman’s 84-yard run following CMVT’s second lost fumble after Zajac’s big gain.
Hans returned the second-half kickoff 38 yards to set up the Red Raiders near midfield, and he also finished the drive with a 32-yard reception.
Montgomery then took advantage of a short field as defensive lineman Thayden Miller made a leaping interception at the line of scrimmage and set up the Red Raiders at the CMVT 35. Tanner Springman punched it in from 12 yards out on the third play of Montgomery’s ensuing drive.
But even though the Rams were down 34-0 midway through the third quarter, they showed what they could be late in the game while still going up against the Red Raiders’ first team,
CMVT once again put together a very long drive, this one 18 plays, that took 9:44, and was capped by Zajac’s three-yard touchdown run.
The Rams tacked on another touchdown late when a ball that was tipped around three times ended up in the hands of Shane Tomlinson with just :17 left. A 48-yard run by Zajac flipped the field on that drive, which started at the Ram 39-yard line. Freshman Braxtyn Brown then ran in the two-point conversion.
“We still at times make some mistakes and that is really just being football young. Even though it’s Week 10, some of our guys are still in single digits of their career playing football,” said Varner. “So, we make those mistakes and those are going to happen. But, when we put it together, we do things well. When we’re thinking fundamentals and thinking properly, we do things well.”
CMVT will play one more regular-season game next Thursday, as the Rams, who had to cancel a game earlier this year due to a COVID outbreak in the school, will travel east to face Marian Catholic as the Rams look to pick up their first win of the season. The Red Raiders, who have a streaky season – having started with three straight wins, followed by five straight losses, and then two wins to end the season – will look to avenge a loss to Muncy just two weeks ago in which they trailed by just two at halftime before falling 40-18.
“It was just 14-12 going into the half, so there’s no reason why we can’t compete with those guys,” said Diggs. “It’s just how bad we want it. It’s a Saturday night game, so we’ll see, and may the best team win.”
Montgomery 41, Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech 14
Montgomery (5-5) 7 14 13 7 – 41
Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech (0-8) 0 0 0 14 – 14
First-quarter
1:11 – (M) Colby Springman 48-yard run (Huynh kick), 1-48, :11
Second-quarter
6:11 – (M) Coltin Hans 25-yard pass from Logan Almeida (kick failed), 8-52, 2:49
3:58 – (M) Colby Springman 84-yard run (Deem pass from Almeida), 3-97, 1:00
Third-quarter
8:46 – (M) Coltin Hans 32-yard pass from Logan Almeida (kick failed), 6-54, 3:14
4:59 – (M) Tanner Springman 12-yard run (Huynh kick), 3-35, 1:32
Fourth-quarter
7:15 – (VT) Toby Zajac 3-yard run (pass failed), 18-62, 9:44
5:39 – (M) Coltin Hans 56-yard pass from Logan Almeida (Huynh kick), 4-55, 1:36
:17 – (VT) Shane Tomlinson 8-yard pass from Caden Long (Brown run), 8-61, 5:22
Statistics
M VT
First downs 15 11
Rushes-net yards 18-224 50-225
Passing yardage 216 33
Passing 14-24-3-0 4-8-1-1
Fumbles-lost 0-0 5-2
Penalties-yards 7-69 2-15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Montgomery: Colby Springman (10-187-2), Logan Almeida (3-(-3)), Tanner Springman (2-16-1), Weston Pick (2-5), Devon Deem (1-19); CMVT: Toby Zajac (36-219-1), Dante DiAgostino (6-21), Shane Tomlinson (5-(-4)), Caden Long (3-(-11))
PASSING — Montgomery: Logan Almeida (14-23-216-3-0), TEAM (0-1-0-0-0); CMVT: Caden Long (4-8-33-1-1)
RECEIVING — Montgomery: Coltin Hans (12-210-3), Maurice Walters (1-9), Devon Deem (1-2); CMVT: Shane Tomlinson (3-22-1), Dante DiAgostino (1-11)
