And that’s exactly what they did, cruising past the visiting Rangers with a 62-0 win.

“I’d say I was very happy with how we managed all the off-field distractions. With it being homecoming week, last week’s win at Muncy was huge. It took the guys a little while to get over that, but we demanded their focus at practice and had another great week of preparation,” Montgomery coach Joel Knoebel said. “As a coaching staff, that’s all we could ask for, handling the distractions at school with the homecoming events and getting everything squared away pregame. From my perspective, it all turned out very favorable for us. The only real issues were some penalties that came from a lack of discipline and sloppy play, but overall our execution in terms of X’s and O’s was very good.”

Offensively, Montgomery was tremendous. They were stopped on fourth down inside the Northwest 10-yard line on their first drive, but that would be the only stop the Rangers got all night. The Red Raiders ran for nearly 12 yards per carry as three ballcarriers ran for at least 94 yards en route to eight rushing touchdowns.

“It’s a totally balanced attack, which is great for our guys, because all of them are playing both ways, and it kind of helps spread the workload. They’re equally capable and competent,” Joel Knoebel said.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Josh Knoebel (9) breaks away from a Northwest defender during a high school football game at Montgomery on Friday.

Just four plays after Montgomery was stopped on downs on their first drive, Seth McClintock partially blocked a punt that flew right into Logan Joy’s hands. Joy returned it ten yards to the 10-yard line, and a play later Josh Knoebel scored the first of the freshman’s four touchdown runs on the night.

“I think the main thing is just our three-headed monster. If they commit too hard to one side, we hit them the other way, time and time again. When they shut one thing down, we go to another, and we score off that. Having that three-headed monster is huge for us,” Josh Knoebel said.

Knoebel’s two first-quarter touchdowns, the second of which came on a 47-yard run, precluded the third touchdown of the quarter by the Red Raiders. That score belonged to Austin Luckenbill, who was thrust into a more prominent role in the offense after a Montgomery player was ejected. Luckenbill found daylight from 42 yards out with just seconds remaining in the quarter to put Montgomery up 20-0 at the end of the first frame.

“I’m always ready to go out there for my guys. An unfortunate play happened but I’m ready to step up there and do whatever it takes for us. It’s a tough situation, but I think I did what I should have done there and stepped up,” Luckenbill said.

Montgomery scored three more times in the second quarter, and quarterback Parker Persing had his hand in two of them. He hit Briar Persing up the seam for a 22-yard score in the middle part of the quarter. Then, he capped off an impressive two-minute drill with a quarterback sneak from two yards out with just thirteen ticks left in the half to put Montgomery up 41-0 en route to their 62-point win.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery quarterback Parker Persing (7) fires off a pass during a high school football game against Northwest Area at Montgomery on Friday.

“We talked to Parker this week about how, if and when we got the game in hand, there were specific things we wanted to work on. We wanted to see him make reads, evaluate a defense, and make some throws. I feel like he did a nice job. Each week he’s getting better, and we’re proving that beyond our three running backs, we’ve got a quarterback who’s a run threat, and now a quarterback who’s definitely a passing threat as well,” Joel Knoebel said.

Montgomery’s fifth win in a row keeps them in position to capture their first-ever NTL Small School title, with a Week 9 game against South Williamsport potentially deciding the league championship.

“We don’t want to overlook anything. It’s a next-up mentality. Week by week, we want to get better, and that’s what we’ve preached since camp started. We want to continue developing our offense — our running backs’ vision and ability, and our quarterback’s ability to read defenses, understand the offense, and call audibles,” Joel Knoebel said. “That gives us a third dimension with his passing game, which is coming along very well. Our running game is obviously there. We just need to keep developing our quarterback and our offense, and right now, we feel like we’re in the driver’s seat.”

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's defense brings down Northwest's Zaiden Meeker (2) during a high school football game at Montgomery on Friday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Trace Furman (1) breaks away from a pair of Northwest defenders during a high school football game at Montgomery on Friday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Josh Knoebel (9) celebrates a touchdown during a high school football game against Northwest Area at Montgomery on Friday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Trace Furman (1) gets past the Northwest defense during a high school football game at Montgomery on Friday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Briar Persing (22) and Parker Persing celebrates a touchdown during a high school football game against Northwest Area at Montgomery on Friday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Parker Persing (7) breaks away from a pair of Northwest defenders during a high school football game against Northwest Area at Montgomery on Friday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Seth McClintock (6) gets his hands on Northwest's Shane Hempel (20) during a high school football game at Montgomery on Friday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Briar Persing (22) moves the ball for Montgomery during a high school football game against Northwest Area at Montgomery on Friday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montgomery's Trace Furman (1) gets past the Northwest defense during a high school football game at Montgomery on Friday.