Montague couldn't get much going early on against unbeaten Ludington Friday night, though the Wildcats did briefly battle their way back into the game before falling to the West Michigan Conference Lakes leaders, 29-13.
Montague struggled offensively in the first half, but thanks to a couple of timely turnovers and a solid effort on defense were nearly able to get to halftime down only 7-0. Ludington, though, did kick a field goal to end the first half, making it a 10-0 halftime margin - one Montague coach Phil Koops said he'd have taken coming into the game considering the Wildcats' injury problems, which included star receiver Levi Auger being out with the shoulder injury suffered against Whitehall.
In the third quarter, Ludington scored two touchdowns in a 40-second span, both on fumbles. Oriole quarterback Asher Forfinski scooped up a fumbled snap and took it 25 yards for a score with 8:23 to go in the third. Right after that the Wildcats fumbled the ball into their own end zone and Forfinski scooped that one up too for six more points.
The game was in danger of getting out of hand, but Koops said he was pleased with the way his team was able to respond. The offense, which had gone eight quarters without getting int the end zone, was able to put together a good drive, and Gavyn Maddox went in for a two-yard touchdown to get his team on the board. Cole Moss followed with a 23-yard scoring burst, and it was 23-13 after a missed two-point conversion.
"At 23-0, it could've been 50-0 real fast, and our kids kept playing and kept fighting," Koops said. "I'm really proud of our kids' effort. They're a good football team. They're pretty big and tall up front and they have some skill."
The O's regrouped and put a touchdown on the board in the fourth quarter, sealing the win. Ludington entered the season with many questions after the graduation of several key players and the transfer of the talented Himes brothers to Mona Shores, but Koops said he was impressed with the Orioles.
"Everyone kind of doubted those guys when the Himes brothers moved, but I knew they'd be really solid," Koops said. "They have a lot of height and a lot of size, and they played solid football tonight and beat us."
Maddox led Montague with 84 yards on the ground, and Moss added 74. Maddox recorded a team-best 10 tackles, and Kian Peters and JJ Atchison had seven apiece. Koops said Peters, who played offense in place of Auger, also performed well as a blocker.
At 2-4 (2-3 WMC Lakes), Montague's road to playoff qualification is tough, especially with a trio of good teams (North Muskegon, Fremont, Ravenna) left to play. But Montague rallied from 1-4 to reach the playoffs a year ago, so the 'Cats know they have it in them.
"We probably have to win two out of three to get ourselves to 4-5, and with our schedule, especially if one of those wins is against a really quality opponent with some wins on their resume, we feel like we'd probably be in," Koops said. "That would be a huge accomplishment for this group."
