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Montgomery beats Muncy to claim Old Shoe Trophy for second straight year

By Chris Masse 9 min read

MONTGOMERY--Every time Montgomery players felt gassed Friday night, they looked toward their crowd. There, they viewed a sea of Red-clad fans who filled the bleachers and passionately cheered.

That provided the Red Raiders a lightning-bolt like burst of energy. They parlayed that into a gutsy performance and once again, the shoe fit.

And creating this Old Shoe win was especially significant for several reasons, specifically because Montgomery achieved something no other Raider team had since the mid-1990s.

Lincoln Miller ran for 129 yards and scored on both sides of the ball, while the offensive line surged and the defense dominated the second half as Montgomery outlasted Muncy, 30-20 Friday night at Red Raider Stadium, capturing a second straight Old Shoe Trophy. Montgomery (4-1, 3-0) also took sole possession of first place in the NTL-II and repeated as Old Shoe winners for the first time since 1994.

"It’s pretty special," two-way senior lineman Ethan Hugar said. "When you make plays and see the crowd get hyped, it makes you feel amazing."

"When it’s third down and I’m getting tired; looking over there and seeing all the people get excited, that just made me want to play even harder," fellow senior two-way lineman Connor Jarrett said. "To come out and win this again in front of our home fans means a lot."

That goes double considering the path, Hugar, Jarrett and their senior teammates have traveled over the years. Growing up, Muncy dominated the series at the youth level. Muncy then produced blowout victories when this current senior class were freshmen and sophomores.

From the ashes, this group rose and now has won three straight in the series, including a district semifinal win a year ago. This one was highly entertaining, featuring four first half lead changes. The pendulum swung back and forth; the action was intense and the excitement high.

That is what made winning so rewarding.

"This is great for these seniors. They got their butts whipped their freshman and sophomore years and every year they grew up in this rivalry game, they never one. Now for them to experience it in back-to-back years is pretty phenomenal," Montgomery coach Joel Knoebel said. "To an extent, you throw out your scouting reports because the level of play is just enhanced by the environment and the history. It’s a good one."

Hugar, Jarrett, Cameron Woltz, Lyle Huggler and Evan Hugar paved the way for 307 rushing yards as Trace Furman added 77 and Briar Persing 62 with a go-ahead second-quarter touchdown. The line, the backs and the defense came together to form a potent blend and hold off a Muncy team which delivered a super effort.

Nothing came easy and nothing rarely does in this series, especially with both again looking like serious District 4 Class A title contenders. Muncy (3-2, 2-1) turned a 10-point second quarter deficit into a 20-17 lead later that quarter, but Montgomery never buckled.

Persing’s 5-yard touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the half gave Montgomery both a 24-20 lead and momentum. Miller then added a 1-yard third quarter score and Hayden Denton’s clutch fourth quarter interception helped seal the deal as the line and backs tied a bow upon the victory and ran out the clock.

"Don’t worry about what happened before. Just keep going. That’s our mentality," Hugar said. "At the end of the first half we drove and scored a touchdown. That was big."

Montgomery’s next play mantra paid huge dividends in its latest 12-round fight against a strong opponent. And make no mistake, Muncy landed some haymakers and fought for every second of those proverbial 12 rounds.

Noah Weikle threw touchdowns to Nate Rogers and Jermain Morgan, while Chase Boozer’s electrifying 80-yard interception return for a touchdown had Muncy up 20-17 in the second quarter and thinking it could avenge last year’s defeats.

Ultimately, it did not happen, but it was another good step forward for a fairly young team which entered riding a three-game winning streak.

"It was good for us to come into a great football environment on the road, against a rival and for the most part play well except for those small things that you just can’t do against good teams," Muncy coach Chris Persing said. "I’m not big into moral victories, but the positive is we came on the road against a really good team and played well for the most part."

Muncy became just the second team in the last 15 games to reach 20 points against Montgomery but three mistakes loomed large. The second came in the second quarter when an errant shot gun snap traveled 15 yards into the end zone. Miller recovered it in the back of the end zone for a touchdown and Montgomery led, 17-7.

That came after a muffed punt midway through the first quarter set up Dylan Sherman for a 31-yard field goal and the game’s first points. Trailing by four in the third quarter, Muncy coaches called for a punt, but the punter went for a fake and the ensuing incompletion gave Montgomery the ball at the 21-yard line with Miller’s 1-yard score capping a brief drive and putting the Raiders up, 30-20.

In the grand scheme, those are fixable mistakes. The foundation for success is there, so Muncy now looks to fix what went wrong so it can make things go right down the stretch which starts with another tough game next Friday against South Williamsport.

The Muncy positives outweighed the negatives. Rogers dazzled at times, opening the game with a 39-yard end-around pass to Boozer. Four plays later, Rogers made a fantastic leaping catch while well-covered for a 3-yard touchdown that made it, 7-3.

Rogers then helped set up Muncy’s second touchdown when he hauled in Weikle’s 34-yard pass. Weikle threw a laser to zip the ball past the defender on third-and-10 a few plays later and Morgan’s 13-yard touchdown cut Montgomery’s lead to 17-14.

Rogers and fellow senior Jaxson Thomas helped set the Muncy tone and both had fantastic games. Thomas ran the ball well against a stout defense and also led the team in tackles as a pair of veterans continue helping the younger players make strides.

"Nate is Nate. He’s a quiet kid but he shows up every day. We trust him with everything we do," Persing said. "Jaxson played really well. With Layken (Harris) being out, we asked him to do a lot and play both sides of the ball against a physical football team. You get that senior leadership in the Old Shoe Game it’s pretty special."

Montgomery leaned on its leaders as well and they came up huge. Following Boozer’s 80-yard pick 6, Miller continued his tremendous night and returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to the Muncy 34. Persing’s 5-yard score put Montgomery back ahead, 24-20 and marked the fourth and final lead change.

Persing came up big with leading rusher Josh Knoebel injured early in the second quarter, playing the wing position for the first time and running for 62 yards on 10 carries. It was a next-man up, whatever it takes demeanor which helped Montgomery ride the emotional waves and settle in as the game progressed.

"Briar ran well and he’s literally not had a single rep this season in that position," Joel Knoebel said. "It just goes to show what type of athlete he is. He’s the real deal."

The line played that part throughout the second half. Combining with Miller, Furman and Persing, those players helped change the game’s complexion and dominated both the line and the clock. Montgomery ran 61 plays to Muncy’s 34 and won the time of possession battle 34 minutes to 14.

The line blocked hard, the backs ran equally hard and that punishing style started taking its toll throughout the second half. After Trace Furman and Persing made big pass breakups in the third quarter, Denton intercepted his fourth pass this season with 7:47 remaining. The line and backs took it from there, running the game’s final 14 plays. The Raiders averaged 5.3 yards per carry against a defense which allowed 23 points all season entering Friday.

"We feed off each other all the time. When we do well up front, they do well back there," Jarrett said. "We fed off each other the whole game and that was big for us."

"We had a lot of rushing yards. I love that feeling," Hugar said. "When they call out the plays and we still get five or six yards, it’s the best feeling in the world."

The defense started preventing Muncy from experiencing good feelings during the second half. The Indians used big plays to make the most of their first half possessions and scored on two of their first three, but the Raiders adjusted from there and Muncy ran just wo plays in their territory the rest of the game, never getting past the 46.

Miller and Gage Furman produced sacks, but it was more about the pressure Montgomery applied than the sacks which changed the second half. The Raiders might not have brought down elusive signal callers Weikle and Noah Walters much, but they consistently were in their face, forcing them to move, while disrupting the offense’s timing. Put it all together and Montgomery allowed just 38 second half yards.

Both teams laid down building blocks going forward. Like a year ago, Montgomery and Muncy understand they could meet again come playoffs. For Friday, however, the night belonged to Montgomery.

Few wanted to let it go either as parents and friends continued snapping off photos long after the game concluded. The game is over, but the memories will live on. It’s not just the win either, but the climb Montgomery has made.

"Our first two years we’re rough," Hugar said. "Being able to win it this two years in a row and do something we haven’t done in 30 years is pretty awesome."

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