Photos by Bethany McCullough | CatchMark
Story by Tate Stine | CatchMark
SPRING LAKE – The Montague football team’s season opener was not short on drama, particularly in the last couple minutes Thursday night at Spring Lake’s Grabinski Field.
Adam Baird’s short touchdown run with less than 90 seconds to play proved the difference in the Wildcats’ 20-17 victory over the host Lakers in the nonconference battle.
Spring Lake had a chance to tie the game with a 45-yard field goal in the closing seconds, but the attempt fell short.
Here are details and notables from the game:
- Needing a big stop in the last couple minutes of the game, Montague senior Rodney Brassfield and other Wildcats linemen forced an errant throw, which was intercepted by junior Paul Olson in his own territory.
- Following Olson’s pick, he hauled in a home-run ball from senior Chase Gowell to position the Wildcats near the Lakers’ goal line.
- Montague senior Owen Petersen sparked his team with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a back-and-forth second quarter.
- Baird’s 43-yard TD reception from senior Chase Gowell in the second quarter gave Montague a 14-10 lead at halftime.
- Brassfield had a big game for Montague, leading the defense with eight tackles, including two sacks and three stops for lost yardage.
- Seniors Izac Jarka and Da’Carri Williams also recorded eight tackles apiece for the Wildcats.
- Spring Lake’s Alex Lee paced his team with 116 rushing yards and one TD on nine carries — 70 of those yards coming on his scoring run that gave his team a 17-14 lead in the third quarter. Lee also led the Lakers in tackles, followed closely by Caleb Ortiz.
- Montague hits the road again next week, heading to Ravenna for a West Michigan Conference nondivisional contest at 7 p.m. Thursday. It has been selected the CatchMark SportsNet Game of the Week, meaning there will be a free livestream and more spotlight coverage.
