Sayre Notches Big Win Over Montgomery @ntlathletics @CoachK_Gorman @MontgAthletics

Tagged under: District 4, Gameday Hub, News

Phil Myers | September 18, 2021

The Sayre Redskins dampened the spirits of a huge Montgomery homecoming crowd by giving the Red Raiders their first loss of the 2021 campaign by a score of 36-16 on a warm and humid late summer night at Red Raider Stadium.  The game, which had four lead changes, was actually nip and tuck until the last four minutes.

“This is our first game having everyone back,” stated Sayre head coach Kevin Gorman.  Sayre has had Covid issues the past couple weeks and has been missing some key ingredients, especially on the line.  “We’re still missing one of our running backs, but this is the first game having everyone back in 2 weeks, it kind of started clicking.  We started a little slow, but overall, I thought the pass plays, run plays, and our line played great.  Overall, I thought it was a combined effort tonight,” Gorman added.

Led by quarterback Brayden Horton and running back Zack Garrity, Sayre put up points in every quarter efficiently mixing the run and the pass in moving the ball to the tune of 350 yards of offense.  Horton completed 8 passes for 183 yards which averages out to 23 yards per completion.  He also scored the Redskins’ second touchdown.  Garrity averaged over 6 yards per touch when he rushed for 87 yards on 12 carries, scoring twice.

#2 Brayden Horton standing in back center.

A short kick by Montgomery to begin the game gave Sayre good field position at their own 40.  The Redskins then methodically drove the ball down field mostly running the ball, although Horton did complete a fourth down pass to move the chains and keep the drive alive.  Finally, on the twelfth play of the drive, David Northrup scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 12-yard run.  The drive consumed over four and a half minutes of time.  The two-point conversion was no good and at 7:20 of the first quarter the Redskins led 6-0.

Later in the first stanza, Montgomery embarked on a 95-yard 13-play drive that ate up over five minutes on the clock.  QB Logan Almeida called his own number and scored from the four.  After a penalty moved the ball back to the 18, Almeida found Coltin Hans for the rare 18-yard two-point conversion which gave the lead to the Red Raiders 8-6 at the 8:20 mark of the second quarter.  RB Colby Springman was the workhorse of the drive carrying the ball 7 time for 67 yards.

Springman was injured late in the half and did not return.  “Colby Springman is a monster and a beast,” said Montgomery head coach Christian Diggs.  His absence may have been a big factor in the final score as he rushed for 78 yards in the first half.  But his absence may have been felt more on the defensive side as he plays outside linebacker and the Montgomery defense limited Sayre’s offense after the opening score until the Redskins’ last drive of the half when Springman was not on the field.

Sayre may have used that to their advantage as they started a drive at their own twenty with 4:44 left in the half.  Another 12-play possession concluded with Horton’s two-yard quarterback sneak with only 20 seconds remaining.  The big play of the drive was a 41-yard pass to Luke Horton on a third and thirteen situation.  Horton to Horton again gained two points and the 14-8 halftime lead for Sayre.

The second time the Raiders had the ball in the third quarter they thrilled the homecoming throng with an Almeida 54-yard TD pass to Hans who eluded a couple of tacklers on his way to the house.  Hans finished the game with 4 catches for 108 yards and the one touchdown.  They converted the two-point try and with 5:22 on the third period clock, Montgomery was up 16-14.  It would be their last lead.

Sayre came right back and wrestled the lead away from Montgomery late in the third with a 7-play 57-yard drive culminating on Garrity’s short run to paydirt.  Another successful 2-pointer put the Redskins in the catbird seat 22-16.

Taking possession at their 25 after forcing Montgomery to punt from midfield, Sayre proceeded to eat up almost seven minutes in another methodical drive that was hampered by 26 yards in penalties.  “My hat’s off to the guys, they put that stuff behind them,” Gorman stated, “penalties can obviously put you behind the sticks. When our guys handled that, kept moving and churning and we got that first down, that was kind of the clicking point with them. They thought we could finish this game, and I’m glad they did.”

But it was what happened on a fourth and seven incomplete pass at the Red Raider 15 that sealed the fate of the home team.  Instead of taking possession on downs, Montgomery was flagged for pass interference giving Sayre a first down at the 8-yard line.  From there, two plays later, Northrup scored his second touchdown on a nice 6-yard run around the end.  Two more points after the TD gave the Redskins an insurmountable lead at 30-14 with 3:47 left.  Garrity capped the scoring with a 27-yard run up the gut with a little over two minutes on the clock after his team held Montgomery on downs.

Northrup is seen flipping the ball to the official.

Recapping his thoughts on the game Gorman said, “our line looked sharp, I think when everyone’s together, I think it’s a great unit.  They know each other, they’ve been playing together for two or three years.  Defensively, I thought we did a good job.  We got penetration in the run game, and when they had to throw, we got after the quarterback.  Overall, they did a great job.  This was a big win for us.  This was a big win going forward.  Getting everyone back and getting this win was good medicine for us.”

Next week Sayre (3-1) travels to Muncy (3-1) to take on the Indians and Montgomery (3-1) makes a journey to South Williamsport (2-2).

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