Montague was able to put up points Friday night at Ludington, but the Wildcats struggled to contain Orioles' quarterback Cam Gunsell in a 45-34 defeat.
Gunsell threw for three touchdowns, ran for a 51-yard score, and carried the Oriole offense to a second and third-quarter outburst after Montague took a 14-7 lead out of the first quarter.
"Their quarterback is a really good player," Montague coach Justin Dennett said. "He can run it and throw it. They hit some big plays on us. We had some missed tackles and missed assignments, but a lot of it is that he's a great player."
The Wildcats (3-2, 2-2 West Michigan Conference Lakes) made another quarterback change Friday, having Eli Petersen play full-time quarterback after Ryver Jarka had taken the reins for a few weeks. Petersen is a more experienced thrower than Jarka, and Dennett said the coaches felt the run-heavy offense had become too predictable for opposing defenses despite Jarka's obvious athleticism being a factor.
"We feel like we were pretty one-dimensional with Ryver. It's not that he can't throw it, but we just haven't practiced it much," Dennett said. "Eli gives us some more balance and is able to spread it out to our offensive weapons...(He) was able to get the ball to Ryver in space."
The switch seemed to pay off early as Petersen threw two first-quarter touchdown passes to give the 'Cats that 14-7 lead. From there, though, the O's ripped off a 31-6 scoring run as the Wildcats struggled with turnovers and were unable to get big gains on the ground.
"It's tough. we thought this was one we really needed and wanted," Dennett said, noting that there were some mental miscues in the game but lauding his team's effort late. "We're going to build on the positives and get back to work Monday for North Muskegon."
Petersen ran the ball in for a touchdown to get Montague within 38-28 early in the fourth quarter, but Ludington responded with another scoring drive to salt the game away. Petersen did, however find Talan Degen for a 65-yard touchdown strike in the late moments.
Petersen was 22-of-33 through the air for 240 yards and three touchdowns, though he also threw three interceptions. Jarka led in receiving with eight catches for 115 yards and a score Fletcher Thommen paced the defense with nine tackles.
"We did some good things, and there are definitely some positives we can build off," Dennett said. "We have to have a good week of practice and build on the week of practice we had this week, and we'll be in good shape."
