CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – After having to wait an additional seven days to return to game action due to a forfeit win over Sycamore last week, Montgomery Central football was eager to kick off their 2021 season on Friday.

Game rust did not rear its ugly head for the Indians, who were able to execute in all three phases in front of their home fans, shutting out Northeast 16-0.

“Pretty good football,” said Montgomery Central football coach Jeff Tomlinson of what he saw from his team. “We came out and played physical, played pretty fundamentally sound and didn’t make a lot of mistakes. That was a good football team that came in here tonight, and I liked the way we competed.”

Game summary

A personal foul by linebacker Casen Cunningham stalled Montgomery Central’s opening drive after the Indians worked their way into Northeast territory.

The senior later bounced back with a sack and a handful of tackles on the defensive side of the ball, wreaking havoc against the Eagles in the first half.

“Casen is a headhunter,” Tomlinson said. “He’s always everywhere. He’s just one of those players that has a nose for the ball. He’s got a high motor, which is why he makes penalties, so I have to try and turn that motor down a little bit.”

Points were at a premium through the first quarter and a half until Kade Davis broke off a big gain to set up a 9-yard rushing touchdown from Andrew White to put the Indians on top 7-0.

With just 35 seconds left to play in the second quarter, Montgomery Central struck again. White, who was left all alone inside the 10-yard line, reeled in a pass from his quarterback Logan Sykes before reaching the end zone for his second score of the night.

“Kade is the whole reason we have the other stuff,” Tomlinson said. “Because everybody is focused on 20. We can use 20 to open up other things and that’s exactly what we did.”

After putting up 62 points in their win against West Creek last Friday at home, Northeast struggled to find its rhythm on the road.

“I’d say a lot of it was just a lack of execution,” said Northeast football coach Brandon Clark. “They did a really good job of staying over top of our receivers and limiting big plays. We could not capitalize on anything tonight it seemed like. It felt like a case of one step forward and two steps back.”

The Eagles ground game was nonexistent Friday without their leading rusher from a season ago Juwan Harris, who is no longer with the team.

Montgomery Central was able to dominate in the trenches and get continuous pressure on Northeast’s signal caller Jaiden Puig more often than not.

The Indians leaned on their two-headed rushing attack of Davis and White down the stretch before Zachary Pierce connected on a 20-yard field goal for the final points of the game.

The Eagles were able to hit on some substantial plays in the third quarter, but most of them were wiped out due to costly penalties.

Clark is hopeful that his team can get those type of infractions cleaned up sooner rather than later.

“Those things obviously hurt,” Clark said. “We just have to watch film and see what we can do better, so we can try to get our offense back to running as crisp as possible.”

Up next

Montgomery Central (2-0) will now prepare for a two-hour bus ride when they travel to take on Lawrence County (2-0) Friday, Sept. 3, in their Region 5-4A debut.

“We definitely should be able to carry over some momentum,” Tomlinson said. “A win is always good to carry over to the next week because you can feed off of that.”

Northeast (1-1) welcomes in Springfield (2-0) Friday, Sept. 3, who took down Clarksville 27-10 in Week 2.

The Eagles will have to regroup in short order if they want to start off the season on the right foot in region play.

“We just have to put this behind us,” Clark said. “Games like this can either tear you apart or they can make you stronger. We’re hoping it’s going to make us stronger.”