by Rusty Ellis
The Monterey Wildcats took a big step forward in earning a home playoff game on Friday night, as they took down region foe Oneida 42-9 in one of the most well-rounded games for Monterey this season.
Senior quarterback Matthew Montgomery got the scoring started early, as he found Eli Saylors for a 23-yard touchdown that gave Monterey a 7-0.
8:35 Q1
Eli Saylors makes a terrific grab for a 23-yard touchdown strike from Matthew Montgomery to open the scoring.
MHS 7
Oneida 0 pic.twitter.com/KJdf6783Uc— Rusty Ellis (@RustyEllis_) October 15, 2022
After Oneida answered early in the second quarter with a 43-yard field goal, Montgomery chose to do respond himself with a 66-yard touchdown run that began opening the floodgates on the scoreboard.
With just 23 seconds left before halftime, Mason Bowman scored the first of his three touchdowns to push the lead to 21-3 at the break.
Oneida turned the ball over on downs to start the third quarter, and Bowman added a 32-yard touchdown run to break the game wide open at 28-3.
Montgomery added his final touchdown of the night, a 20-yard touchdown pass to Michael Allred, and Bowman scored once more on a 55-yard run to cap all the scoring off and send the game to its final score of 42-9.
With the win, Monterey has all but ensured themselves a home playoff game, provided they take care of business for the rest of the season if you ask head coach Scott Hughes.
“Hats off to our guys, probably the best we’ve played on fall break since I’ve been here,” Hughes said. “Our guys showed up every day this week, and they were ready to go…hats off to them for the focus they had all week.”
In one of the most complete offensive performances of the season for the Wildcats, Hughes attributes the success on Friday to his guys maturing and growing up since the start of the season.
“We’ve played a lot of sophomores this year, and at the halfway point in my opinion, they’re no longer sophomores,” Hughes said. “They’re starting to buy into that…these guys play for each other, and they care about each other. That’s where you’re starting to see them click a little more.”
Defensively, Monterey was just as impressive, and Hughes says what he was most pleased with was the effort and intensity his team played with in their pursuit of the ball.
“We flew around and we talked all week about how much of a challenge Oneida would pose for our secondary,” Hughes said. “We were able to control the run game and that gave us some perimeter help…probably one of the better games for our secondary this season.”
Up next on the calendar is a home game against Bledsoe County, before wrapping up the regular season at Wartburg. Hughes knows that this group has a chance to do something special in the postseason if they take care of business.
“These guys have worked hard and dedicated themselves to getting a home playoff game,” Hughes said. “It’s a great group of young men…they wanted to be one of the few teams in our school’s history to get a home playoff game, and it’s well-deserved.”
