LINDEN — Week one on the gridiron was finally here on Friday night and boy did the North Montgomery Chargers come to play. The Chargers hosted the North Putnam Cougars and quite literally from the first play of the game made quite the impression. The Chargers won the game 40-16 and got their first score just 12 seconds into the game. With that you would’ve thought the Charger offense got the ball to begin the game. Not exactly. The Cougars fumbled the first snap of the game and Noah Hopkins recovered setting up the Chargers in prime field position. Then on the Chargers first play, senior QB Ross Dyson fired a 21-yard strike to Kelby Harwood for the score. From then on it was all Chargers.
“We got off to a real good start tonight,” Charger coach Josh Thompson said of the week one win. “The kids came out and were ready to go from the opening snap. It showed really in our defense as they were swarming to the football. Offensively we spread the ball around very well to our play makers. The pass selection tonight was really good and the kids went out there and made the plays we know they can make. I couldn’t be more proud of our skill guys all the way around.”
The night belonged to the Charger senior signal caller. Dyson threw for 181 yards and four touchdowns while adding 108 yards and one score on the ground. Near the end of the second quarter, Dyson had consecutive plays where the original play broke down and he was forced to improvise. And did he ever. What resulted was two straight runs of 32 and 31 yards to put the Chargers in prime scoring position.
“We wanted to get the season started off the right way,” Dyson said. “We had a great gameplan coming in we wanted to come out and punch them in the mouth a little bit and be able to get a lead early. We knew if we did that, we could wear them down we could pull away and that’s what we were able to do.”
What made the night even more special for the Chargers was before the game they honored their 13 senior players and two student managers to celebrate senior night. It was that group of seniors that includes Dyson, Jarrod Kirsch, Corbin Meadows, Hopkins, Sulc and plenty of others.
“We have a very special bond,” Dyson said of this senior class. “It only makes us better because we’re constantly pushing one another. Overall it’s great to know that a group like that will have my back no matter what through good and bad.”
North Montgomery out-gained the Cougars 346-161 with a big chuck of the Cougars yards coming late in the game after the Chargers had put their reserves into the game.
Sophomore signal caller Christian Kramer had 117 yards through the air for the Cougars in the loss. North Putnam. The 0-1 Cougars will take on another Montgomery County foe next week in their home opener as the Southmont Mounties make the trip to Roachdale.
The win over the Cougars marks the fourth straight season the Chargers have beaten them in the season opener to begin 1-0. In week two the Chargers will hit the road to take on Hamilton Heights who took down Lapel 26-14 in week one.
“Our goal every week like usual is to get better,” Thompson concluded. “We still want to celebrate the positives with these kids while continuing to improve each and every week.”
