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Montoursville retains Bridge Trophy for second straight year, beating Loyalsock 49-14 in Week 10

By Chris Masse 8 min read

Cole Snyder will remember catching a 50-yard touchdown; intercepting a pass and topping 100 receiving yards.

Still, he and his senior teammates will recall so much more as the years go by. Whether it was the students rushing from the bleachers and joining Montoursville players as they lofted the Bridge Trophy high into the air or understanding the joy they brought the community, these Warriors know they achieved something impressive Friday night at Memorial Stadium which goes beyond plays on the field.

Every regular-season game counts the same. But Montoursville and Loyalsock know that Week 10 means a lot more than those first nine games. No wonder so many players, coaches and fans did not want to leave Memorial Stadium following the game, celebrating long into the night under the bright Friday night lights.

Montoursville created a memorable performance Friday, scoring 35 straight points between the second and fourth quarters, while defeating Loyalsock, 49-14 and capturing the Battle of the Bridge Trophy for a second straight season. Snyder totaled 104 yards on two catches; the offensive line dominated, former lineman Branson Fogleman scored two touchdowns and the defense made repeated timely stops as Montoursville (6-4) secured bragging rights for another year as well as a home District 4 Class AAA quarterfinal against Lewisburg next Friday.

"Everyone played good football; there were a lot of big hits. If you’re a football player that’s what makes you happy. That’s what gets you up in the morning," Snyder said. "I’m so happy. It’s perfect football weather and there’s nothing more I could have wanted."

Elijah Eck threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns; his 50-yarder to Snyder on the second quarter’s first play igniting the 35-point blitz. Brayden Burkett caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, adding a Pick 6, while Kaden Kleinman added 91 yards rushing and a score.

The defense made five straight stops after Loyalsock crossed Montoursville’s 40-yard line between the second and fourth quarters. Snyder, linebacker Jacob Schon and defensive end Zane Butler were among many standouts who repeatedly slammed the cookie jar on Loyalsock’s collective hand when the Lancers thought they would take a bite.

Add in Brent Crawford making all seven extra-point tries and Montoursville clicked in all three cylinders. It was not a perfect game, but it was the Warriors most complete this season. And, as so many players touched the Bridge trophy afterward, they know it was the perfect regular-season ending.

"It’s awesome," Fogleman said after excelling defensively and running for 62 yards and two scores on three carries in his first-ever running back duty. "This group of guys, I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. It was great."

"They have some explosive kids, but we wanted to try and send a message physically," Montoursville coach Reese Holmes said. "It’s good when a plan comes together. Our defense played great; special teams was good and the offense was finally hitting. It was really good, complementary football."

Cayden Sones ran for 84 yards and the first of his two one-yard touchdown runs had Loyalsock up 7-0 entering the second quarter. The Lancers (4-6) had let Montoursville have the ball for just two minutes, 7 seconds in that opening quarter, but the second quarter’s first play represented a seismic shift in the game’s complexion.

From midfield, Elijah Eck rolled right and the defense flowed with him. He then stopped and threw across the field on a delayed screen to Snyder who saw only green and the end zone. The senior tight end, then did his best Carl Lewis impersonation, sprinting away from multiple defenders as he completed a 50-yard play down the left sideline and tied the game.

"I don’t run like that all the time my coaches say, but when I see the end zone I get a little bit happy and I guess I speed up a little bit," Snyder said. "It was a perfectly drawn-up play by our coach; perfectly delivered ball by Eli and everyone else sold it great. I couldn’t ask for anything better right there."

Montoursville could not have asked much more from Snyder either.

Showcasing his playmaking ability on both sides, Snyder turned his Senior Night into a highlight reel of what has made him so valuable throughout his high school career. That included snuffing out Loyalsock’s ensuing drive, when he intercepted a pass over the middle at the 20-yard line.

Defensive energy flowed back to the offense and the Warriors ripped off a nine-play, 80-yard drive which Mason Lapinski capped with a 5-yard touchdown run while going ahead to stay, 14-7. Snyder later set up a Fogleman four-yard touchdown with a 54-yard reception and was in on four tackles for loss.

"I’m super happy for all our seniors and Cole especially," Holmes said. "It’s Senior night; Battle of the Bridge, it means a lot to the kids, it means a lot to the community and he played a great game. He came out and was hitting people and he caught the ball and he was flying. I couldn’t be prouder of him and all our seniors."

Montoursville led 14-7 at halftime, but its offensive line and hard-nosed running started wearing down Loyalsock and the Warriors scored on four straight second-half possessions. Butler, Riggs McGraw, Joseph Schemery, Rocky Kinsey and Colin Sweeley took the game over, blowing open big holes and watching hard-nosed runners like Kleinman, Fogleman, Lapinski and Bryson Fillman plow through them.

Kleinman’s four-yard touchdown concluded an eight-run, 80-yard drive which made it, 21-7. Five of the eight plays on that march gained six or more yards. It was the start of an overpowering stretch and Montoursville averaged 7.8 yards per carry. Eck also had clean pockets and the Warriors were so balanced that the 219 rushing yards and 218 passing yards were nearly identical.

That long drive which opened the second-half scoring was then followed by a burst of explosiveness. Montoursville scored touchdowns on three of its final four plays, starting with Fogleman’s first score.

James Williams ended another Loyalsock threat with an interception at the Warrior 14-yard line and returned it 86 yards for a touchdown. A penalty thrown at the Loyalsock 38 pushed the ball back to Montoursville’s 48-yard line. All it took was one play to get those points back. Fogleman burst up the middle, ran over a defender and broke loose for a 52-yard score which made it, 35-7.

"The linemen blocked great and I kept the legs going," Fogleman said. "All the credit to the line on that play."

Sones pulled Loyalsock within, 35-14 a series later, but Burkett dropped the hammer and made sure Montoursville would keep the Bridge with two big plays on different sides of the ball.

First, Burkett hauled in a perfectly thrown Eck deep ball for a 43-yard touchdown. Less than two minutes later, the junior defensive back picked off his sixth pass this season and produced his second return score, going 48 yards and putting an exclamation point on a win won in front of a huge, boisterous crowd.

"The defense is playing lights out. The kids fly around and run to the ball," Holmes said. "My one thing is I love physical football. Where I’m from (Canton), that’s what I like; that’s what Montoursville is about, so on defense we just ask them to fly around to the football and put some hats on them."

Montoursville did that particularly well at the most opportune times. Loyalsock gained 330 yards and produced 21 first downs, but until a late surge, the running game was bottled up. Freshman quarterback Dyson Dupont threw for 160 yards but following an 8 for 8 start, the Warriors limited him to six completions in 16 attempts for 60 yards.

More importantly, Montoursville slammed the door whenever Loyalsock sensed an opening. Those five straight stops dramatically shifted both energy and the game’s trajectory. It was a true team effort as well with all three levels of the defense flourishing and Schon and Gavin Bower adding sacks.

"It’s a great momentum shift when you stop them in those spots. Everyone loves defense, so everyone gets hyped for that," said Fogleman, who helped produce Snyder’s interception, hitting Dupont as he threw. "Our defense has been good all year but the offense helped, the defense helped and we played complementary football. It was awesome."

Sones gained 43 hard-earned yards on a long fourth quarter scoring drive and Jackson Keefer set up his game-opening touchdown with a 36-yard catch and run off a Dupont shovel pass. Carter Brown caught four passes and Zion Cobb produced 61 yards on two receptions, giving Loyalsock something to build on it as it enters districts next week, likely heading to either Athens or Mifflinburg.

Both Loyalsock and Montoursville are well-stocked with talented underclassmen and strong junior high programs, so future Bridge games look exciting as well.

But Friday night belonged to the Warriors. And, while the plays may become more fuzzy as the players grow older, the feelings they experienced during and after the game will long stay fresh.

"It was a great senior night," Fogleman said. "We wouldn’t want to do it any other way."

"The student section showed up great, and it was a very fun atmosphere. This is a great way to celebrate Senior Night," Snyder said. "You really couldn’t ask fo more than getting the Bridge Trophy, beating our rivals and moving on.

"I’ll remember this for the rest of my life."

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