MONTAGUE — Montague finished last season strong, losing a 1-0 district final to eventual regional finalist Manistee. After losing only four seniors to graduation, the Wildcats are hopeful they'll again be competitive this fall.
Part of the optimism has come from the increased size of the players. Coach Brandon Mahoney said while he knew many of his returners were regular participants in the weight room, it was still jarring to see how much bigger some of them were when they gathered for the first day of practice.
"We definitely have more size than we've had in a few years, which is exciting for us," Mahoney said.
The Wildcats boast impressive speed on the offensive side of the ball. Isaiah King, who earned all-state honorable mention last fall as a sophomore, and senior Wyatt Grawey will give defenses two threats to guard against. Grawey should be even better this year; he's fully healthy after dealing with nagging injuries last season.
"To punch his ticket to all-state honorable mention as a sophomore is pretty impressive," Mahoney said of King. "We've never had it happen. He's got a nose for the goal. He wants to score. It's nice to have some of those kids...In football it would be the red zone, so when you're in the red zone for soccer, he wants to put that goal in."
In the midfield, Montague is strong and experienced. Senior Jonah Henderson, as experienced a player as any on the team, spearheads the group with help from Austin White, who Mahoney said has come on very strong over the past year. Henderson showed off his scoring skills at times last year, and White is excellent on defense.
"I feel like Austin and Jonah can really cover a lot of ground in that midfield, and they both have a big tank," Mahoney said. "I'm not worried about those guys getting tired or fatigued. It's going to be exciting."
The keeper job appears up for grabs with three players interested in pursuing it - Chayse Maddox, Ethan Balon and Bobby Orwat. Maddox, a sophomore, started the year last season before the junior Balon emerged as the starter later. Orwat is a sophomore and expects to be in the mix as well. Mahoney said he's pleased that he's got players trying to fight for the keeper spot as opposed to having to solicit interest for it.
That kind of hunger seems to be a theme for the team; Mahoney shared excitement that several freshmen are eager for the challenge of playing varsity. Often incoming freshmen are content to develop on the JV level, but this class' desire to play varsity should keep the veteran players sharp as well. Among the freshmen to watch are two brothers of past Wildcat stars - Jona Meza, brother of Carlos, and Brendan Trevino, brother of Trevor.
"There's some freshmen that want to be on varsity," Mahoney said. "They want to get the minutes. They want to work hard. You have those kids, and it just makes those seniors and those juniors go, 'I've got to work hard. I've got to push more.'"
The West Michigan Conference continues to grow in competitiveness in soccer - Mahoney noted that Manistee and Fremont played against each other in a regional final last fall - and the Wildcats are growing their reputation as a strong program. The confidence is high, even as the WMC features impressive programs like those two, as well as Ludington, North Muskegon and longtime rival Whitehall.
"We have the mindset that we can play with (tough teams), and we used to not have that," Mahoney said. "Now, it's like, 'Let's make sure we win. A tie's not good enough.' That's the kind of attitude you want."
