MANDATA- Montgomery football coach Cory Tice only saw his team win one game in his first year at the helm. The Red Raiders won just one game the season before that, too. It’s why the team’s appearance in the District 4 Class A semifinals was even more impressive.

Montgomery fought hard but couldn’t keep up with Line Mountain, dropping a 49-19 decision to the Eagles at Glenn Ressler Field on Saturday night.

“That’s a good, athletic football team,” Tice said. “They do a lot things well. We were prepared for that, the ball just didn’t go our way.”

It was the program’s first appearance in the district playoffs since the 2021 season. The team finishes the season with a record of 7-4, a noticeable step up from the back-to-back one win seasons.

“You don’t like to judge yourself on the past,” Tice said. “We did some things a lot of good teams, good schools, and good programs do every year. This is the standard; this is what we’re supposed to do.”

The leader of the pack has been senior running back Coy Bryson, who finished the regular season sixth on the District 4 rushing yards leaderboard. He ran for 124 on 25 carries in the loss.

Bryson finishes the season with 1,148 yards and 17 scores.

“He’s a fantastic young man,” Tice said. “He’s a hard worker. He’s kind of the heartbeat of this team. As he goes, we go.”

“It’s a really good feeling coming in when the team was never really good, and then being the person to change it and set them up for the future,” said a tearful Bryson. “I’m just proud to know that I was part of the team that made that change.”

As it had been all season long, the run game was the bread-and-butter for the Red Raiders on Saturday night. The Red Raiders (7-4) compiled 279 yards on the ground, earning over 6 yards per carry.

The run game was even more impressive for the Eagles, who gouged the Red Raiders for 320 yards at a 12.8-per clip. Ian Bates was the ringleader, totaling 229 yards on the ground while finding the end zone four times overall.

Bates’ first score came on a 62-yard pass thrown by Kaiden Maurer in the first quarter before scoring again on a 1-yard tumble in the second. He then sprinted for explosive 19-yard and 69-yard scores in the second half.

Maurer also found the end zone four times, twice through the air on passes to Bates and Ethan Lenker (10 yards) and twice on 53-yard and 15-yard runs in the second half.

“That’s sometimes what happens,” Tice said. “They’re a tough offense with athletes all over the place.”

Montgomery scored three times, twice in the first quarter on runs by Parker Persing (5 yards) and Trace Furman (44 yards) before Lincoln Miller found Furman open for a 25-yard score in the final minute of the game. Persing, the starting quarterback, was dealing with an injury throughout the game before finally exiting in the second half.

Bryson won’t be around next season, but he has high aspirations for the future of the program.

I think we’re going to win the district ‘chip next year,” he said. “I think they’re going to be a good team for years to come.”

Line Mountain 49, Montgomery 19

Line Mountain 14 7 14 14 — 49

Montgomery 12 0 0 7 — 19

First quarter

LM-Ethan Lenker 10 pass from Kaiden Maurer (Chase Zerbe kick), 7:05;

M-Parker Persing 5 run (kick missed), 2:30;

LM-Ian Bates 62 pass from Maurer (Zerbe kick), 2:14;

M-Trace Furman 44 run (pass failed), 0:49.

Second quarter

LM-Bates 1 run (Zerbe kick), 9:29.

Third quarter

LM-Maurer 53 run (Zerbe kick), 10:37;

LM-Bates 19 run (Zerbe kick), 8:46.

Fourth quarter

LM-Bates 69 run (Zerbe kick), 7:49;

LM-Maurer 15 run (Zerbe kick), 3:03;

M-Furman 25 pass from Lincoln Miller, 0:39.

TEAM STATISTICS

LM M

First downs 16 13

Rushes-net yards 25-320 44-279

Passing yards 151 37

Passing 11-16-1 4-11-0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0

Penalties-yards 3-29 6-36

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Line Mountain: Ian Bates 18-229, 3 TDs; Kaiden Maurer 3-79, 2 TDs; Ethan Lenker 2-10; Dalton Schadel 1-3; Team 1-(-1). Montgomery: Coy Bryson 25-124; Trace Furman 6-58; Lincoln Miller 6-52; Parker Persing 5-37; Logan Joy 2-8.

PASSING — Line Mountain: Maurer 11-16-1 for 151 yards, 2 TDs. Montgomery: Persing 3-9-0 for 12 yards; Miller 1-2-0 for 25 yards, TD.

RECEIVING — Line Mountain: Maxim Johnson 4-40; Lenker 3-21, TD; Bryce Smeltz 2-25; Bates 1-62; Chase Zerbe 1-3. Montgomery: Furman 2-22, TD; Ethan Tupper 1-9; Bryson 1-9; Miller 1-(minus-3).