Bolfing, Bears end War Eagles’ win streak
SHENADOAH — Montgomery got a huge spark it needed early and rode that the rest of theway Thursday night in a non-district win against Oak Ridge.
The War Eagles were two yards away from an early first quarter lead, but Montgomery senior cornerback Josiah Gaetani picked off a pass and returned it 100 yards to the end zone.
Montgomery kept the lead from there and won 3813 at Woodforest Bank Stadium.
The interception was Gaetani’s fourth of the year.
“That was huge,” Montgomery coach John Bolfing said. “Theywere ready to go in there and take the lead and he picks it off at the goal line and returns it 100 yards. Momentum is a big deal and that was certainly a game changer.”
Montgomery (2-2) has already matched last year’s win total just four weeks into the season. The War Eagles’ best start since 2017 came to an end as their three-game win streak was snapped.
Oak Ridge (3-1), without running back Alton McCaskill, wide receiver Scott Hickey and briefly without wide receiver Landon Lightsey in the firstquarter. Lightsey left during the first series after taking a hard hit after a reception.
A couple plays after that, Gaetani was blazing down the left sideline to the end zone.
“We took our first possession straight down the field and we had the ball at the 2yard line,” Oak Ridge coach Mark Schmid said. “We were getting ready to go in and go up 7-0 and we throw an interception and it gets returned for a touchdown. From that moment on, it was kind of an uphill battle for us.”
Lightsey returned in the second quarter and sparked the offense with two receptions to set up the War Eagles’ lone points of the half.
At the 6:09 mark of the second quarter, sophomore running back Camden Morgan scored on a 17-yard jet sweep to put Oak Ridge on the board. A bads nap on the point after made it 7-6Bears.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Montgomery junior Jalen Washington burst through the middle of the field for a 67-yard score.
The Bears were missing their 380-yard receiving yard star from last week’s loss to Crosby in senior Tre Harden so establishing a balanced offensive gamewas in the cards for the Bears.
“We knew we were going to have to nickel and dime them and be patient running the ball,” John Bolfing said. “Throwing the ball in the flats and goto short passing game to keep drives alive which I thought we did a good job of that.”
Montgomery added a 21yard field goal by Nick de Las Alas for a 17-6 lead at halftime.
The Bears struck again in the third quarter. Junior quarterback Brock Bolfing found senior Jaden Bradley on an 18-yard connection at the 3:20 mark to extend the lead to 24-6, the first of two TD passes by Bolfing..
Oak Ridge scored late in the third quarter after Diego Trujillo recovered a muffed punt at the16-yard line to set up great field position. War Eagles sophomore quarterback Steve Smedley found Jaquale Harrison for a 15yard score.
The War Eagles then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kick.
“The takeaways on special teams were big,” Schmid said. “It gave us an opportunity to claw back into it. We took advantage of one and didn’t take advantage of the other. There were some opportunities there.”
The Bears went up 31-13 with over nine minutes left as senior receiver Jacob Sandegren helped put together a strong drive. He had a 56yard catch and run on third down to extend the drive and then later caught a 24yard pass from Bolfing.
Sandegren, who led the Bears in receiving with 87 yards, took a lot of pressure off Montgomery on that score, whichwas a beautiful catch, after three straight offensive possessions for Oak Ridge.
“We were in total control of the game andwe fumble a punt and then fumble a kickoff,” John Bolfing said. “All the sudden we’re back in the game. To come back and have that drive… we had the pick play (by Sandegren), I think we got another first down and then got the play in the end zone. Jacob’s one of those guys, he’ll go get the ball. He has an extra burst to go get it.”
Ben Smith scored a 15yard touchdown for the Bears with 29 seconds left.
Adavion Johnon led Montgomery with 111 yards rushing on13 attempts. Jalen Washington 101 yards on 15 attempts. Brock Bolfing was 14 for 23 for 179 yards.
Oak Ridge got 86 yards receiving by Lightsey. Quarterback Nick Osborne threw for 122 yards.
“Give credit to Montgomery,” Schmid said. “They have a good competitive football team and Coach Bolfing and his staff do a great job. They’ve been in our district before I knew theywere going to be a wellcoached football team.”
Both teams are on a bye nextweek and return on the following Thursday to start district play.
“I told the kids that football teams can handle this situation one of two ways,” Schmid said. “You can use it to grow from it and prove and get better and motivate yourself. The other way is it canfester and tear you apart and you don’t ever recover. The good thing about it is we get to decide howwe handle this.”