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Muncy beats Montgomery to retain the Old Shoe Trophy

By Chris Masse 8 min read

MUNCY--Muncy linemen have faced numerous challenges this season. And that's not even including the games.

Muncy defensive linemen like Matt McCauley, Braydon Kamerer, Lucas Gruver and Boe Steele push the offensive line hard Monday-Thursday and vice-versa. Come game night, each unit already has become battle-tested. Friday night, both lines were at their best and their complementary practices paid off in a big way.

A dominant offensive line opened up big holes all night, the defensive line took away the run and The Old Shoe Trophy stayed in Muncy. Austin Johnson ran for 191 yards and four touchdowns; Ty Nixon for 168 yards and two scores and Muncy pulled away in the second-half, defeating determined Montgomery, 40-18 to win the Shoe Game for a third straight year. The Indians (7-1) won their seventh consecutive game, ran for 415 yards, allowed just 39 rushing yards and outscored Montgomery 26-6 in the second half.

"I always try my best, especially on scout team to really push them and make them work for it. You can't just go out there and let them bounce all over you. You really want to make them work, especially against physical teams," McCauley said after playing an excellent game and making nine tackles. "Any coach will tell you, you're either helping the guy next to you or you're not. You're always trying to make everyone better, no matter who they are."

"When you get those scout reps and are preparing against a quality d-line, it makes our o-linemen work hard," Muncy coach Sean Tetreault said. "It's great to see it pay off on Friday nights."

Montgomery (3-5) pushed Muncy hard and answered each Indian touchdown in the first half, trailing just 14-12 at halftime. Eventually, though, Muncy's tremendous play up front on each side of the ball took its toll. The Indians scored on four of five second-half possessions and three straight Johnson touchdowns put it up 33-12 in the fourth quarter. After Montgomery pulled within 15, Nixon and the line went to work again and Nixon's seven-yard score in the final minute, clinched the victory. Despite playing without all-state lineman Isaac Harris, Muncy ran at will, averaging 9.4 yards per carry and ripping off 13 runs of 10 or more yards.

Harris's younger brother Eli shined while taking his place, meshing with Xander Brown, Gavin Hillman, Adam Rosario and tight end Bailey Hadzinikolov to help Muncy impose its will. Johnson opened the scoring with a 53-yard touchdown four minutes into the game and all four touchdowns came from 10 or more yards. Instead of a thunder and lightning combination, he and Nixon were more like thunder and thunder, following super blocks and adding extra yards after contact.

Put it all together and Muncy added on to its area rushing yardage lead with Johnson breaking the area freshman record for touchdowns. Johnson shared the record with Lewisburg's Max Moyers and now has 16 in his first eight high school games.

"My offensive line helped me out a lot. It was all them. Missing Isaac was a big loss, but it's the next man up and Eli played a good game," Johnson said. "Our offensive line is really tough. They are helping us out so much. I can't even describe it."

While Muncy's offensive line opened big holes, the defensive line closed them all. The Indians held Montgomery to 39 rushing yards on 31 attempts. Logan Almeida played an excellent game and threw for 244 yards, but making Montgomery one-dimensional was a key difference.

Playing in his final Shoe Game on Senior Night, McCauley was unblockable early, making a big hit on the game's first play and combining with Hadzinikolov and linebacker Jason Shuda to lead the team in tackles. So effective was Muncy's defense against the run that it never allowed a run of more than four yards.

"When I looked at our schedule and saw that it said Senior Night vs Montgomery I had goose bumps leading up to this game. I've been so excited for it," McCauley said. "That was the goal, to set the tone right off the first snap of the ball and that's exactly what I went out there and did."

Montgomery never backed down, however, and showed why it could be dangerous if it gets a rematch with Muncy three weeks from now in the District 4 Class A semifinals. Maurice Walters and Coltin Hans each caught six passes and touchdowns. Walters produced 129 yards and Hans 82 and Montgomery repeatedly made clutch plays in the first half to keep scoring drives going. That included Almeida rolling out and hitting Weston Pick (16 tackles) for a 10-yard gain when Montgomery went for it on 4th-and-2 from its own 38 yard line.

Almeida hit Walters for 24 yards on a 3rd-and-10 two plays later before Colby Springman's 3-yard touchdown cut Muncy's lead to 7-6. After Muncy answered with Nixon's 7-yard score, Montgomery went back to work and moved 54 yards on six plays in less than a minute. Almeida launched a bomb as he was getting hit and Walters made a sensational catch with two defenders on him. He then spun away inside the 10 and completed the 44-yard scoring play which pulled Montgomery within 14-12 at halftime.

"We always have something to learn from a loss or a win. It was 14-12 at halftime, so we just have to make some adjustments," Montgomery coach Christian Diggs said. "We showed we can hang with them and I think we can beat them, we just have to put everything together."

"Our kids know it's Montgomery-Muncy. It's going to be a very hard-fought, tough game," Tetreault said. "We knew we needed to get the momentum back. We got the ball back and we had to run the ball, force them to throw the ball and take our shots when we need to on offense. It was great to see everyone get back to the team mentality we have. Everybody does their job and it works out great for us."

Muncy opened the second half with a six-run, 57-yard drive and Johnson's 10-yard touchdown run made it 20-12. Ross Eyer ended Montgomery's next two possessions with interceptions off tipped passes, giving him six this season. Following the second interception, Muncy quickly moved downfield and Johnson's 10-yard touchdown made it a 14-point game.

Johnson reached a career high in yards in impressive fashion the next series. The freshman made his first Shoe game especially memorable and all but sealed victory when he erupted through a gaping hole up the middle and went untouched for a 32-yard touchdown, giving Muncy a 33-12 advantage.

"I just saw it was open. I was just good blocks," Johnson said. "It feels good. It's open field and you just go."

Its victory hopes fading, Montgomery kept going and revealed its character. Playing for the first time since Week 4, Springman broke a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, then a few more while turning a sure loss into a first-down catch on the ensuing series. Hans then made three straight dazzling catches which put Montgomery in the end zone. Fittingly, Hans capped the drive when he caught a short Almeida pass, followed good blocking and scored a 10-yard touchdown, closing it to 33-18 with 3 minutes, 12 seconds remaining.

It was not the result Montgomery wanted, but it showed marked improvement from the two previous weeks. Having Springman back provides a boost on both sides of the ball and there is a lot to build on moving forward.

"That's what I've been trying to coach since I've got here, you don't quit. You just keep playing hard," Diggs said. "Colby gave us a spark and he made some great runs and big plays. Coltin Hans is a great player and makes a lot of plays for us. Seeing that effort is exciting."

So is winning the Shoe.

Muncy has lofty goals after winning the last three district championships, but all one had to do was watch the post-game celebration to see how much this victory meant. Happy players posed for countless photographs, some jumped for joy and they all took some time to savor something they will long remember.

"I feel really good about it. I know for the first half we had a few issues, but the second half we came back and pulled ourselves together and worked it out as a team," McCauley said. "We've been looking forward to this. I'm hoping the guys underneath us can keep it here and it really means a lot to us, especially to us seniors."

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