Montgomery vs. Cowanesque Valley preview
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Montgomery PPG--41.0, PPA--9.9; YPG--354.2; YPA--168.6
Montgomery notes: Montgomery (8-1) has won five straight games and is going down to the wire, battling Line Mountain for District 4 Class A's top seed. If Montgomery and Line Mountain both win their final regular season games, who gets the top spot will come down to the Tri-Valley-Williams Valley game. A Tri-Valley win would give homefield advantage to Line Mountain; a Williams Valley win to Montgomery. The Red Raiders also can clinch a second straight outright NTL-II championship, earlier earning a share of the title. Montgomery has won five straight games and the offensive line has asserted itself, helping the Raiders lead the area in rushing. Josh Knoebel, Briar Persing and Trace Furman all went over 100 yards in last week's win at North Penn-Mansfield and those three, plus Lincoln Miller, all have topped 500 yards this season. Quarterback Gage Furman also threw a touchdown to Hayden Denton who scored as a receiver and runner. Denton and Trace Furman each have four interceptions. Furman and linebacker Cameron Woltz have totaled nearly 300 tackles the past three seasons and Montgomery and Montgomery has scored four defensive touchdowns. Two-way lineman Connor Jarrett helps anchor both fronts and recovered a fumble for a score, while as did Miller, while Denton and Knoebel have taken interceptions for scores. Knoebel has run for 30 touchdowns in his first two years at Montgomery and he, Miller and Trace Furman have all topped 1,000 career yards.
Montgomery player to watch--Dylan Sherman: Abe Childs excelled as Montgomery's kicker the past two seasons, leaving a void following his graduation. Sherman has filled it in a big way. The first-time kicker has become a special teams weapon and is second among area kickers with 46 points. He set a record last week, going 12 for 12 on extra-point tries in Blossburg.
CV PPG--20.4, PPA--30.8; YPG--234.2; YPA--269.2
CV notes: CV (3-6) kept its 3A playoff hopes alive last Saturday, defeating Sayre, 40-20. The Indians need a win tonight and a Wellsboro loss against North Penn-Mansfield to qualify. CV has not had a true home game this season, since construction on its new stadium was delayed. Despite that and some costly injuries, the Indians have again competed well and won at least three games for a fifth time in six years. CV built a 40-7 fourth quarter lead against Sayre and has received a boost the last two weeks with all-star linebacker Kegan Lane returning from injury. Fellow senior Dave Hess ran for 124 yards against Sayre, while also lining up at quarterback and receiver and returning an interception for a score. Hess has scored touchdowns five ways this year, also taking a kickoff to the end zone. Gavin Churchill has thrown touchdowns in four of his last five games and CV's 27 points against NTL-I champion Troy are the most scored against the Trojans this season. Colton Begley and Max Millard have complemented Hess in the backfield and Justin and Trenton Schaar both have three-sack games. Three-year starting lineman Stevie Olson has 11 sacks over the last two seasons. CV hung tough in Week 10 a year ago with Montgomery, losing 21-6.
CV player to watch--Cam Stahli: The sophomore receiver/defensive back has built off an exciting freshman year and taken another step forward. Stahli leads the team in receiving and gave Sayre fits, catching four passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. He also helps solidify the secondary, intercepting two passes this season.
Outlook: CV has handled adversity well this season and continued making positive program gains. Thursday is a tough match-up against a Montgomery team which has found its stride, but don't expect CV to roll over.