North Montgomery's defensive line stands up Southmont's Cameron Giles. The Chargers held the Mounties to 119 total yards of offense.
Zach Waldon led the Chargers with 99 yards on the ground.
North Montgomery's Ben Lovold sacks Southmont quarterback Trent Jones.
Jacob Braun had a long rush and scored a defensive touchdown for the Chargers in their win over the Mounties.
LINDEN — North Montgomery football coach Josh Thompson had a good feeling about Friday night’s matchup with county-rival Southmont, and he saw his seniors carry it all week.
“I haven’t seen this much swagger out of our seniors in a long time,” he said. “I mean it was all week, and all day today at school. Like you could just tell they were ready to play. It was a very confident swagger,”
The Chargers dominated the Mounties — Dragging Southmont’s defense up and down the field, and not backing down to the Mountie’s quick offense on their way to a 30-7 victory.
“The kids bought into what we told them this year,” Thompson added. “We told them where their eyes needed to go and to keep their eyes locked, and they did that.”
After the Charger’s first drive stalled in Mountie territory, North Montgomery quarterback found Kade Kobel for a five-yard score and the Chargers led 8-0 after a quarter. Bradford added a rushing touchdown in the second quarter to put North ahead 16-0 at the break, and two more scores in the third quarter blew things open for the home team.
“I think everything started with them,” Southmont coach Desson Hannum said. “All week we’ve been talking about who wins the line of scrimmage is going to win the game. And I really think they were able to win the line scrimmage and it came down to physical play, and they were a lot more physical than we were. Especially up front. They executed their game plan and they knew what it was going to take to win.”
Chargers win battle up front
North Montgomery (2-1, 1-1) won the battle up front out of the gate, and never looked back. The Chargers racked up 225 rushing yards on 41 carries on offense, and held the Mounties (1-2, 0-1) to 99 yards on 32 carries defensively. Zach Waldon led North with 99 rushing yards.
“It all starts with the line and getting in that mentality in the locker room before the game,” Waldon said. “And it all starts with the line opening up the hole and I tell them if they block hard for me, I’ll run hard for them.”
Southmont tailback Cameron Giles was held to 46 yards on 18 carries.
“Defensively I couldn’t be happier,” Thompson said. “We had that small letdown late in the fourth quarter, but I was thrilled to death with the defense, and offensively we moved the ball tonight. “We basically went in with two different looks, and the kids bought in and did and did exactly what we asked, and we could see throughout the week each day we got better and better at it.”
Domination in the trenches was especially key for the Charger’s defense through the first two and a half quarters. North Montgomery held Southmont without a first down until the midway point in the third quarter.
Missed Opportunities For Mounties
As frustrating as Southmont’s struggles were, the defense came up with just enough plays to keep the Mounties in the game. Southmont forced the Chargers into a three and out, a turnover on downs, and Evan Lowe stripped North Montgomery’s Jacob Braun after a 52-yard run all in the first half.
“If I was to highlight one thing I thought our defense played really well,” Hannum said.
The Mounties weren’t able to cash in on the opportunities though, and Braun redeemed himself with a 15-yard scoop and score touchdown in the third quarter.
Big Win For Seniors
The win for North Montgomery not only gave the Chargers a pair of Journal Review County Chase points, but it was the first win for the senior class over Southmont.
“Everybody read their keys and we played together as a team,” senior starter Kai Warren said. “I think coming into the game we had a chip on our shoulder. I haven’t beaten Southmont since my sixth-grade year of football. So just having that chip on your shoulder makes you want to work a little extra hard.”
Up Next
North Montgomery travels to Lebanon next Friday, while Southmont hosts Frankfort.
“We have to go back starting tomorrow and find a way to get better,” Hannum said. “For us it’s about staying together as a team, rallying around each other, and finding a way to make ourselves better next week, the week after, and into the rest of the season.”
North Montgomery 30, Southmont 7
NM 8 8 14 0 — 30
SM 0 0 0 7 — 7
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
NM: Kade Kobel 5 yard pass from Jaron Bradford (2-Point), 1:33
Second Quarter
NM: Bradford 1 yard rush (2-Point ), 6:44
Third Quarter
NM: Bradford 1 yard rush (2-Point Conversion Failed), 6:25
NM: Jacob Braun 15 yard fumble recovery (2-Point), 1:38
Fourth Quarter
SM: Cameron Giles 2 yard rush (Lowe Kick), 3:57
Team NM SM
First Downs 14 6
Rushes-Yds 41-225 32-99
Comp-Att-Int 4-14-2 5-11-1
Pass Yds 64 20
Total Yds 289 119
Punts 3 6
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yds 5-65 4-30
Individual Stats
Rushing
NM: Zach Waldon 21-99, Jaron Bradford 11-27, Jacob Braun 1-52, Kade Kobel 3-22, Gage Galloway 4-15, Will Campbell 1-10.
SM: Cameron Giles 18-46, Ty Welliever 3-9, Trent Jones 5-8, Jake Whitecotton 4-31, Dillan Lauy 2-5.
Passing
NM: Bradford 4-13-64 TD, Kobel 0-1-0
SM: Jones 5-11-20
Receiving
NM: Kobel 3-25 TD, Warren 1-39
SM: Giles 3-15, Whitecotton 1-0, Lauy 1-5
