Montgomery Football head coach Sean Carty addresses his team after the Cougars’ 20-15 win over Woodbridge in the North 2 Group 4 semifinal on Friday, November 7th, 2025 (Photo: Alec Crouthamel).
Montgomery football – as a whole – may be new to the championship environment, but it is full of players who have plenty of experience in big moments.
The Cougars have balanced experience and young talent, as well as a strong rush and pass attack, to rebound in head coach Sean Carty’s first year at the helm, after working as an assistant for former head coach Zoran Milich.
After a battle-tested regular season and early playoff run, Montgomery heads into its first sectional final appearance in school history, as the Cougars travel to Maloney Stadium to take on Phillipsburg in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 final. The Stateliners are looking for their second straight sectional title.
You can hear that championship bout Friday night live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – featuring No. 1 seed Phillipsburg (9-1) and third-seed Montgomery (8-3) – with kickoff at 7 pm, and pregame at 6:45 with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Click here to listen.
The Cougars reached this point after a hard-fought 20-15 win over second-seed Woodbridge last weekend, one where they overcame two turnovers on the offensive side, and avenged a regular-season loss from a month ago.
Senior quarterback Jack Kristjanson leads a senior-laden offensive lineup as a dual-threat weapon, with fellow senior running back Caiden Miller alongside him, who ran for 112 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Barrons. In the pass game, Kristjanson has a litany of options, including seniors Obinna Obuba and Trey McFadden, and junior Xavier Harrigan, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown and converted a key third down against Woodbridge.
Kristjanson almost serves as Carty’s second pair of eyes on the field, knowing that whatever he calls, the signal-caller will execute it at a high level, or create something himself if the play breaks down.
On the defensive side, Montgomery had to battle against the Barrons’ strong run game. While star tailback Joshua Allen got his numbers with a near 100-yard rushing performance, the Cougars got a late stop when they absolutely needed it, stuffing Woodbridge on three consecutive plays in the red zone – a second-and-four, third-and-three, and fourth-and-one – after throwing an interception on offense to preserve the lead in the fourth quarter.
Another unit with years upon years of experience, the defense has been led by senior linebacker Dragomir Georgiev, a “true presence” in the middle, as Carty described him.
The biggest challenge for Montgomery will be facing off against Phillipsburg’s physicality and intimidation in the trenches – as is the same challenge for nearly every team on the Stateliners’ schedule – but Carty has prepared his team all year with the same mantra: Be ready for all 48 minutes.
Only time will tell who comes away victorious with the sectional championship trophy.
Click below to hear Montgomery coach Sean Carty talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel about the Cougars and Friday’s title game:
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