Photos by Emma Pendell for CatchMark
Montague’s football team has a lot of fight left in it.
That much was evident by Montague’s 24-22 home win over Division 6 sixth-ranked Manistee on a rainy Friday night at Townsend Athletic Complex.
Senior Adam Baird ran wild for the Wildcats, who improve to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the West Michigan Conference Lakes Division. Baird rushed for 201 yards and all three of his team’s touchdowns on 30 carries as Montague brought a physical brand of football to a Manistee squad that prides itself on that style.
The lone loss for Manistee (6-2, 3-2) entering the game was a 35-0 home defeat to unbeaten Whitehall three weeks ago.
Montague’s victory over Manistee should give the Wildcats a nice boost in the playoff points picture.
Next up for Montague is the rivalry game against Oakridge, as the Wildcats head to Wolf Lake for Week 9. Manistee wraps up its regular season at home next Friday against Fremont.
Here are more details and notables from the game:
- Baird opened the fourth quarter with a dandy, 41-yard TD run along the Montague sideline that gave the Wildcats a 24-16 lead and proved to be the game-winning score.
- Manistee answered on a short TD run with 7 minutes to go, but the Mariners were stopped on the two-point conversion and Montague held on to a 24-22 lead.
- Montague sophomore quarterback Mason Darke ran 14 times for 40 yards. He was 1-for-3 passing for 11 yards in the tough conditions.
- Montague senior Paul Olson had the lone reception.
- On a night when defense was critical, Montague junior Ryver Jarka led the way with nine tackles, six of them solo.
- Montague senior Tavian Caszatt played a big role up front with seven tackles, six of them solo.
- Montague junior Talan Degen and sophomore Fletcher Thommen made five tackles apiece.
- In addition to his big night running the ball, Baird made one of the bigger plays of the game defensively when he registered a sack for a loss of 12 yards in the final moments.
- For Manistee, Kaden Kott ran eight times for 79 yards.
- Braydon Sorenson led Manistee defensively with 14 tackles, including a tackle for loss.
Photos by Bill O’Connell for CatchMark
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