MONTAGUE — Montague enters this season with more settled than it did a year ago, and the Wildcats hope that leads to a more successful campaign after going 3-7 and 4-6 the past two years.
Montague, which had a three-man battle for the starting quarterback position last offseason, decided on junior Eli Petersen as this year’s signal-caller after 2023 quarterback Mason Darke transferred to Reeths-Puffer. Coach Justin Dennett has been impressed with Petersen, who helped the ‘Cats win a 7-on-7 championship at a West Ottawa camp in July.
“It was a good confidence boost for us,” Dennett said of that camp win. “The nice thing about that 7-on-7 was, it was more realistic than some of the ones you see where teams aren’t playing their actual defense. This was a little more structured and a way to get better. It was good for us with a new quarterback. It gives him some confidence and gives the guys some confidence in him.”
Petersen played a few different positions on the varsity last year, including at receiver and linebacker. Dennett said he and Petersen agreed that his playing receiver in 2023 gave him a deeper understanding of the offense and prepared him well for his new role.
Petersen won’t have a few of the team’s big 2023 weapons after the graduations of top running back Adam Baird and leading receivers Isaiah Atchison and Paul Olson. However, Dennett is optimistic that can be countered with the team bringing back four starting linemen. David Myers leads the group as the only senior, but juniors Maverick Osborne and Isaac French bring a lot of experience to the front, and Logan Hansen and Elijah Eilers hope to carry over the momentum from strong finishes to last year.
And though the new skill guys aren’t as experienced, it’s not like the Wildcats are bereft of talent. Riley Mulder is a gifted tight end who has fielded some college attention this summer, including an offer from Division II Saginaw Valley State, in the offseason; he missed most of last season with an injury.
“He’s really improved physically in the last couple seasons,” Dennett said of Mulder. “He’s one of our strongest guys and he still has good speed for his size. He got a lot of attention in the spring and summer. We’re looking forward to him being healthy and being able to utilize him this year.”
Kellan Francis, who was also in last year’s QB derby and played mostly defense last fall, is ready for a bigger role on offense, and Ryver Jarka, last year’s top tackler, is also set to be a key piece of the offense after finishing third on the team in both rushing and receiving.
“We feel like we’ve got some experience out there,” Dennett said. “(Jarka) is a kid we can move around and get the ball in different ways.”
Defensively, Montague is well-stocked. In addition to Jarka and his team-high 97 tackles, Fletcher Thommen is back too after ranking second on the team a year ago. Most of the Wildcats’ top players will get time on both sides of the ball.
“Ideally, we’d love to be able to play guys one way, but given our numbers, we’ll play a lot of guys two ways,” Dennett said. “We’ll have 7-9 two-way guys, but we do feel like we have a little more depth, especially up front on the offensive and defensive lines, where we can sub a little more and keep guys fresh that way.”
Early practices, Dennett said, have been competitive. The team has stronger depth than it has the past couple years, so the scout teams are putting up good showings as well as the starters.
Montague’s strong schedule has earned it playoff berths each of the past two years, and that shouldn’t change this year. The ‘Cats open at Forest Hills Eastern, an eight-win team last fall; Dennett said the Hawks are a strong team up front and will provide a tough test for the Wildcats’ linemen. Montague will again face North Muskegon and Ravenna in cross-division West Michigan Conference play. Rival Whitehall has handed the Wildcats three straight lopsided defeats, so there will be no lacking for motivation in the battle for the Bell.
Dennett feels the West Michigan Conference Lakes race should be competitive, likening it to his first season as coach, when Whitehall, Montague and Oakridge all tied for the league championship.
“I think it’s pretty competitive at the top, and really throughout,” Dennett said. “Everybody can compete. Obviously Whitehall, with back-to-back undefeated (regular) seasons, they lost a lot, but they’re still going to be really good.”
