Montour breaks out at AG’s expense
YORK RUN – It took one loss to learn from, but a huge weight can now be lifted off the shoulders of the Montour coaches and players. After a 14-7 loss in its season opener, Montour used both its passing and rushing attack for an offensive breakout in its 38-14 win over the Albert Gallatin Colonials – the first win for new Montour coach Lou Cerro and one-year coach Dick Butkus.
Quarterback Nick Dillani finished 11-of-17 passing for 135 yards, while throwing for one touchdown and interception. His running back, Christian Wilson added 105 yards rushing on 15 carries and three touchdowns of his own.
“We didn’t know he’d be back this week, but we had seen him on film and expected him to be back,” Albert Gallatin coach Chuck Colborn said of Wilson, who was injured in Montour’s first game.
“He’s a good player. He played against us last year as a freshman,” he added.
Wilson made his presence felt during Montour’s first scoring drive with 60 yards on four carries, leading the Spartans to a 7-6 advantage.
He scampered down the sideline for 40 yards on the third play of the drive, and finished up the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run through the middle of the line.
The Montour defense held down the Colonials on their next possession, setting up another scoring drive to lengthen the lead – this time using Dillani’s arm to push the ball up field.
Dillani hit Bryce Peuffer for a 20-yard gain to start the drive, and on the very first play of the second quarter, he found Derrick Johnson streaking across the field for a 35-yard touchdown pass.
“We practiced against the pass all week,” Colborn said, “but we made a few mistakes here and there that we can’t make. At times we thought we had the right coverage and we ended up wrong.”
The two teams shared interceptions on the first plays of their next drive, as the Colonials received the ball on a Donald Alston interception of Dillani.
Albert Gallatin quarterback Travis Embacher found Brent Vaccaro for a 13-yard gain on the ensuing drive, and used his own legs on a five-yard touchdown run. A pass to Vaccaro completed the two-point conversion and tied the game for the Colonials.
Those two points, however, would be the last Albert Gallatin could put up on the scoreboard.
“We thought we were in for a shoot out, but we were able to shut them out the rest of the way,” Cerro said. “Hats off to our defense for that.”
The Spartans used the run for the rest of the game as Williams posted two more touchdowns in the second quarter alone – an 11-yard run off of an option play and a draw that he ran through the middle for 23 yards.
The win for the Spartans marks its second over the Colonials in as many years. Their win at home over Albert Gallatin last season was their lone victory.
Both teams now head into conference action next Friday, as Albert Gallatin travels to Mount Pleasant and Montour will host its first home game of the season in a matchup with Hopewell.
All in all though, for Montour, it was just nice to get the first win out of the way and get the kids focused on winning.
“(First win) feels good for the kids. We had a tough loss last week that could have gone either way,” Butkus said. “It’s been a hard camp for the kids and they deserve to get one win.”
“It should be fun at this level,” he added. “And the way you have fun is to play hard and win. So you get a little taste of it tonight and enjoy it tonight because it all changes tomorrow.”