After being rained out of a Thursday night game at Rye Street Park, the South Windsor Bobcats hosted the Middletown Blue Dragons on Saturday afternoon for a very highly anticipated matchup between the 6-0 Blue Dragons and the 4-2 Bobcats riding a four game win streak.
The Bobcats won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. Jalil Montgomerry started the game off with a nice run of about ten yards. The very next play, the junior back took off and would break several tackles en route to a long opening touchdown just minutes into the game.
On the Blue Dragons opening drive, a nice return to midfield would fail to pay off after a dominant stand by the Bobcat defense. After a quick three-and-out, Middletown was forced to punt and give the ball right back to the home squad.
Junior quarterback Wyatt Prather took off for a nice run up the middle to get the drive started. Prather would get shaken up a few plays later and come off, but Senior Dom MacNeil ran a wildcat snap and punched in the second Bobcats touchdown in just a few minutes.
Seniors Ny’Kem Jackson and Jayden Rodriguez made back-to-back tackles at the line of scrimmage to stuff the Blue Dragons for the second straight drive.
Middletown got their first stop on the ensuing Bobcat drive, getting the ball back just shy of midfield. Just as it seemed the Blue Dragons could get something started, they’d fumble the ball and South Windsor senior Aiden Saada was all over it.
Prather started things off with a nice run to get just inside the 40-yard line. In a flash of deja vu, Montgomery took the handoff and exploded through the middle of the field, through several tacklers, and into the endzone for a long touchdown run. After the two-point conversion, the score now read 22-0.
The second half picked up right where the South Windsor defense left off. A pack of Bobcats swarmed Middletown’s running back Victor Bonet and forced him back several yards. The home defense got another huge stand to get their offense back on the field.
Middletown would finally get on the board and make it 22-8, but it would be too little too late. Senior Jaden Bridgeforth added on the final blow when he ran in the Bobcats fourth and final touchdown of the game.
South Windsor senior Justin Flor came down with a game sealing interception to mark the Bobcats 30-8 win and the first loss of the season for the Blue Dragons.
MacNeil, a senior captain, feels good about the team’s preparation for the game, “We really stepped it up this week working hard and [we] handled business,” MacNeil said.
Montgomery had two touchdowns and 150 yards, adding to his total that finds him second in all of class L in rushing. Montogmerry spoke to The Prowl after the game, saying “We played our game and played together. We do this every game from here on out and nobody can hang with us.”
Since starting 0-2, the Bobcats have been borderline unstoppable. South rides a five game win streak into their battle against East Hartford next week, looking to keep their postseason hopes alive and avenge their loss from one season ago.
