Montague earned its second straight West Michigan Conference Lakes win Friday night by dispatching Orchard View, 55-14.
The Wildcats dominated the second half with their ground game, outscoring the Cardinals 27-0 in that span. Ryver Jarka, Fletcher Thommen and Devlin Dean all got involved. Jarka and Dean led the way; Dean carried for 152 yards and three touchdowns, all three in the second half, and Jarka rang up 143 yards and a score.
"We ran the ball well in the first half and had some productive drives," Montague coach Justin Dennett said. "Our offensive line was so good all night that we just kept grinding on them, and we were able to hit some big plays in the run game. We wore them down a little bit and busted it open."
The Wildcats continued the time-share at quarterback that started by necessity in week two, with both Jarka and Eli Petersen taking the snaps. This time Petersen was fully healthy after an illness limited him last week, but the 'Cats like the extra dimension having both players taking snaps adds to the offense. Petersen connected with Riley Mulder for a 46-yard pass on his only attempt of the game.
"Ryver was able to run the ball effectively for us against Oakridge, and we think that's a good thing," Dennett said. "We threw a little with him too, but he's such a dynamic runner that it makes our offense less one-dimensional...and we want to keep Eli involved too, because he's still a good quarterback."
The opportunity to get Dean extensive work with a big lead can only help with Montague's depth; he backs up Thommen due to Thommen's experience, but Dennett said he can be an impressive back in his own right.
Thommen led the defense with nine solo tackles, and Dylan Bailey added eight. The Wildcat defense forced four turnovers; Cooper Bradley had an interception and a fumble recovery.
Winning a pair of league games in a row is a great way to get set up for a rivalry contest with Whitehall next week, though Dennett knows his team will likely need to play its best game yet to score a third straight win there.
"We still made quite a few mistakes tonight that we can't make against better teams, but we're happy where we're at and where we're progressing," Dennett said. "We're competing hard in practice and doing the little things we need to do to get better."
