Some wins just feel bigger than others.
That’s what it felt like in Skillman Friday night, with Montgomery and Somerville locked in a tight first-half battle that saw the home Cougars trailing 14-13 after getting a second quarter touchdown, but failing on the two-point conversion.
But Montgomery scored the next two touchdowns, and it was enough to stave off Somevrille – which got closer with a late third-quarter scoring drive led by backup quarterback Brendan Pacheo – and the Cougars came away with a 27-21 win, as heard Friday night on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
It was Monty’s first win in the series since 2013, although their only other meeting in between was in 2018, at the height of Somerville’s recent dominance, a 55-12 Pioneers’ win.
Junior quarterback Mike Schmelzer threw three touchdown passes – to Matt D’Avino, Eddie Qian and Ethan McManus, while Gavin Guidette ran for another in a balanced offensive attack.
Somerville scored first and never trailed in the first half, but then two third quarter scores by Montgomery gave them three straight TDs – all TD passes – until Pacheo capped a long drive with a two-yard touchdown run to get Somerville within 27-21. But that was as close as they would get.
The victory puts Montgomery at 4-0 for the first time since the 2007 season, when the Cougars also won their first four, and finished 9-2, with a loss in the Central Jersey Group 3 semifinals to eventual title-winner Holmdel.
A win next week against Hamilton (1-2), which plays tomorrow against Hopewell Valley, would be the program’s best start ever.
Click below for postgame reaction from Montgomery’s 27-21 win over Somerville:
