MUNCY–Most Montgomery players have competed together since first grade. So, as jubilant fans came their way and the final seconds ticked away Friday, those players could embrace a moment they had longed dreamed about.

It was a moment frozen in time, one they all achieved together; one they all have worked toward since last December. What a moment they created.

The shoe finally fits.

In front of an overflowing crowd at Scott McLean Field, every player did his part, the line surged, the defense made timely stops, and Montgomery captured the Old Shoe Trophy for the first time since 2018, defeating Muncy, 27-7. Parker Persing ran for 97 yards and a touchdown; Josh Knoebel 90 yards with two scores and Trace Furman 78 with a touchdown as Montgomery (5-1, 2-0 NTL-II) beat Muncy on the road for the first this century.

“We wanted to do this for so long. Last year what they did to us was straight up embarrassing, so we wanted to come back and show we’re a family and we’re here to stay,” two-way lineman Connor Jarrett said after helping Montgomery out-rush Muncy, 290-26. “They might be an established program, but we’re the toughest team in the whole league.”

Montgomery looked the part Friday, building a 14-point second quarter lead, before outscoring Muncy, 13-0 in the second half. The Red Raiders won their fourth consecutive game, snapping Muncy’s 23-game NTL-II winning streak, and now are in a two-way tie with South Williamsport for first place in the league. They were treated like Kings upon arriving back in Montgomery, receiving a fire truck escort through town.

What a ride Montgomery took its town on Friday.

The Raiders sealed victory with a late goal line stand which allowed them to all soak in the sights and sounds from there as they put the finishing touches on a breakthrough victory. Fittingly, when presented the Old Shoe Trophy following the game, nearly every player managed to get his hands on it, magnifying what a super team win it was.

“It was awesome,” Furman said after excelling on defense and generating 190 all-purpose yards. “Standing out there, you feel this pressure get relieved off your shoulders and you’re able to stand there at midfield and just kind of take it in. you see everybody out there; you see all the fans supporting us and it’s a great feeling.”

Montgomery dramatically turned things around last year when it made a six-win improvement, finished 7-4 and produced the program’s first winning season since 2001. Now, the Raiders are determined to keep building off that success and certainly are off to a strong start six weeks in.

And if there were any remaining doubters, Montgomery silenced them Friday night. This was a victory as complete as it was impressive, coming against the defending District 4 Class A champions which entered riding a four-game winning streak.

“It was a good statement win for the program and the kids. They’ve worked hard to get where they’re at and they showed it tonight,” first-year coach Joel Knoebel said. “What you have seen in the last five weeks hasn’t happened in the last five weeks. It’s happened the last five months. They continue to buy in and work hard every week. This is a five-month package of success, not five weeks and we just continue to build.”

Montgomery has laid the foundation for that building project upon stout defense. The Raiders added another layer against Muncy, too. Montgomery made three stops inside the 25-yard line, capping that success with the goal line stand in the closing minutes.

It was not one or two players who made those stands possible, but all 11 working as one. Montgomery excelled at all three levels, forced Muncy into a one-dimensional game because of its run-stuffing ability and again proved as tough as talented. The Raiders have held all five opponents to seven points or fewer in their wins, surrendering just 13 the past four weeks.

“We preached it all year long, bend but don’t break. Our defense is meant to not prevent them from getting yards, but to prevent them from getting points and that’s what we’ve done all year long,” Furman said. “Our defense is playing lights out. We have some dogs out there.”

Montgomery showcased that bite in all three situations. Montgomery stopped Muncy at the 24-yard line in the second quarter preserving a 14-0 advantage before turning it away at the 9 on a fourth-and-4 in the third quarter, keeping it, 20-7.

The Raiders already were in position to win the game, but the determination remained high and they dropped the hammer after Muncy picked up a first down at the 5-yard line with less than four minutes remaining. Following two incompletions, Andrew Walters ran to the 2, but was unable to throw on fourth down. He tried running for the end zone, but was swallowed up by a sea of White jerseys at the 4-yard line.

“Our defense is one of the hardest hitting defenses in the entire area,” Jarrett said. “Just being able to show that resilience, especially inside the 25-yard line, shows what this team is made of.”

“You look at the percentage of our defensive players that also are wrestlers and that speaks volumes about them. They’re just resilient kids,” Knoebel said. “It’s ingrained in them.”

Muncy has some tough players, too, and never stopped battling. Walters did all he could to ignite a comeback and hung tough despite constant pressure, completing 21 of 39 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown. He did not throw an interception and never backed down against a hard-nosed, physical defense.

Walters also dropped a dime on a 34-yard touchdown pass to Nate Rogers late in the first half as Muncy cut the deficit to, 14-7. Rogers, Gavin Barrows and Dominic Guardini all caught at least five passes.

“They got some good pressure on him, but Andrew did a really nice job,” Muncy coach Chris Persing said. “He handled the pressure well, moved in the pocket, took some shots and handled all the things defenses do to try and get quarterbacks off their game. He did a lot of good things for us tonight.”

Muncy (4-2, 3-1) built momentum entering halftime, and received the second-half kickoff, but Montgomery wasted little time showing that this script would not look like so many past Old Shoe Game ones. The Raiders forced a three-and-out, Furman returned 13 yards to the Muncy 43, and Josh Knoebel ripped off a 19-yard run.

Three plays later, Montgomery faced a third-and-10. After running two straight times to the left side, Montgomery ran a reverse and Furman saw nothing but green grass as he sprinted right and ripped off a 25-yard touchdown run which put Montgomery up, 20-7.

“That was a perfect play call,” Furman said. “It’s something we haven’t shown. and it’s something we haven’t shown from that formation this year, so it was a great play call.”

Jarrett and fellow linemen Layne Gingery, Caleb Parkyn, Evan Hugar and Ethan Hugar repeatedly made whatever play Montgomery run in the second half work out well. The line set the tone and started wearing on a defense which contained it throughout the first half. After some halftime tweaks, Montgomery ran for 161 yards over the final two quarters, and its final touchdown drive was the Wing-T offense operating at peak capacity.

The Raiders moved 91 yards on eight runs with Furman, Knoebel, Parker Persing and Lincoln Miller all having carries that went at least eight yards. Persing capped it when he rolled left and went mostly untouched for a 10-yard touchdown which put Montgomery ahead, 27-7.

“That’s what our main mission is, impose our will early; try and break their will early and then the score will take care of itself,” Jarrett, a three-year starting junior, said. “I have full confidence in our offensive line that we can chip away at any defensive line, especially against these bigger teams. We just chip, chip, chip away and we get results.”

Montgomery’s ability to stifle Muncy’s run forced the Indians to throw nearly every time in the second half. The Indians gained yards at times but not points. It left them in an unfamiliar position as Montgomery celebrated with the Shoe near the South endzone.

As frustrating as Friday was for Muncy, it also realizes it will likely get another crack at Montgomery in the District 4 Class A semifinals. If Line Mountain holds onto its No. 1 seed, Montgomery and Muncy would square off in Week 11. So, the Indians now look forward instead of back.

“I’m excited to see how they respond. I have no doubt these guys will respond well. They’re going to heal up this weekend and come back Monday ready to move forward,” Chris Persing said. “We want to win every game we play, but it’s about moving on from here. We want to keep getting better, so we get to Week 11 and be a better version of what we were in Week 6. That’s the ultimate goal.”

It is one Montgomery echoes as well. As much as the Raiders wanted to win the Shoe; as much as they enjoyed all the fun moments which came during and after the game, they also will not dwell on the result.

Montgomery took a big step forward, and now it is eager to take the next one.

“We’re going to remember this until about Midnight and then we’re on to Northwest,” Jarrett said. After the season is over, we can remember this night all over again. When midnight hits, though, it’s all about Northwest and Homecoming week.”

Montgomery 27, Muncy 7

Montgomery 7 7 6 7―27

Muncy 0 7 0 0―7

First Quarter

Mo–Josh Knoebel 1 run (Abe Childs kick), 1:33

Second Quarter

Mo–Knoebel 8 run (Childs kick), 10:02

Mu–Nate Rogers 34 pass from Andrew Walters (Austin Hartzel kick), 2:03

Third Quarter

Mo–Trace Furman 25 run (kick failed), 8:36

Fourth Quarter

Mo–Parker Persing 10 run (Childs kick), 8:40

TEAM STATISTICS Mo Mu

First Downs 16 13

Rushes-yards 44-290 18-26

Passing yards 48 206

Total yards 338 232

Comp-Att-Int 4-6-1 21-39-0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1

Penalties-yards 6-50 6-55

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Montgomery, Josh Knoebel 20-90, 2 TD; Parker Persing 8-97, TD; Trace Furman 8-78, TD; Lincoln Miller 8-25. Muncy, Andrew Walters 11-24; Layken Harris 1-4; Wes Somits 4-3; Nate Rogers 2-(-5).

PASSING: Montgomery, Persing 4-6-1, 48 yards. Muncy, Walters 21-39-0, 206 yards, TD.

RECEIVING: Montgomery, Furman 3-27; Ethan Tupper 1-21 . Muncy, Gavin Barrows 8-65; Nate Rogers 6-70, TD; Dominic Guardini 5-47; Carter Feigles 2-24.

INTERCEPTIONS: Muncy, Rogers.

SACKS: Montgomery, Briar Persing, Mason Bryson, Ethan Tupper

Records: Montgomery 5-1, 2-0 NTL-II. Muncy 4-2, 3-1.