MONTAGUE — North Muskegon’s combination of a proficient aerial attack and stonewall defense led to a 27-7 victory over host Montague Friday night in West Michigan Conference nondivisional football action.
The Norsemen led 14-7 at halftime, but a pair of touchdowns in the middle of the third quarter extended their lead and put the game out of reach.
North Muskegon improves to 5-1 overall with its fifth straight win. Montague slips to 2-4 overall.
Photos by Kiara Mikkelsen for CatchMark
Here are notables and more details from the game:
- North Muskegon sophomore quarterback James Young completed 24 of his 31 passing attempts for 263 yards. He ran for one touchdown and threw for another.
- North Muskegon senior Carsen Moat led the Norsemen in receiving yards. He hauled in seven passes for 79 yards. Junior Alec Newville followed closely behind with nine receptions for 70 yards.
- North Muskegon senior Denny Belmonte rushed 15 times for 58 yards to go with a rushing touchdown. Belmonte also shared the team lead for tackles with senior Sam Gallo with seven stops.
- The North Muskegon defense forced three turnovers.
- Montague junior running back Adam Baird was the workhorse for the Wildcats as he carried the ball 20 times for a game-high 111 yards and a touchdown.
- Montague junior receiver Isaiah Atchison was a sparkplug in the passing game, as he caught four of senior Chase Gowell’s seven completions on the night for a total of 100 receiving yards.
- Montague freshman Ryver Jarka led the Wildcats in tackles with 9.5, followed by senior Silas Jancek with 6.5.
- Gowell played every defensive snap at cornerback for the first time this season and managed to snag two interceptions in the process.
- Next Friday, North Muskegon hosts Ravenna in what could determine the West Michigan Conference Rivers Division title. It will be the North Grove Brewers WMC Game of the Week. CatchMark SportsNet will produce a free livestream of the game, which kicks off at 7 p.m. with the pregame show at 6:30.
- Montague hosts Fremont next Friday for the Wildcats’ homecoming game. That, too, will be livestreamed for free by CatchMark SportsNet on our YouTube channel.
