Indians rally from behind; pounce Cougars 21-14

MONTROSE — If there was anyone questioning the capabilities of the Montrose football squad, they were silenced Saturday. The Indians proved their worth as they came back from a 14-0 deficit early on, to defeat the Niwot Cougars 21-14 in the opening round of the 4A state playoffs on Saturday afternoon in Montrose.

MHS head coach Todd Casebier was pleased with the victory.

“Any win in the playoffs is nice,” Casebier said. “It’s what we needed. It was good to have to come back and win.”

The Cougars came out gunning in the opening quarter, as Niwot quarterback Cody Lahman connected with Matt Perry of Niwot from 14 yards out for touchdown with 4:22 left in the first. A Montrose thrown interception would allow Lahman to connect with receiver Kegan Garrison for another touchdown just three minutes later with 1:21 left in the first, to put Niwot up 14-0 heading into the second.

The tides began to turn in the second quarter though, as the Montrose defense began pressuring the quarterback on every play. The defense made big stops, and forced Niwot to throw an interception into the hands of MHS’ Nathan Robertson on the Cougars 31-yard line.

Montrose offense began its run — MHS’ Glayden Berry and Jordan Passehl made runs down the field that would ultimately allow Berry to drive from 1-yard out for Montrose’s first touchdown of the game with 3:14 left in the second.

MHS continued to gain momentum, as on their next drive led to a Shane Hedrick touchdown via a pass from Nathan Robertson with just 11 seconds left in the half. MHS missed the extra point, putting Niwot up 14-13 at the half.

The Cougars seemed to lose any momentum they had in the third quarter, as the Indians’ defense made sure to not allow them any chances to near the end zone. On offense, Montrose’s Passehl scored Montrose’s second touchdown of the afternoon with 8:22 left in the third from four yards out. Robertson then connected with Passehl on the two-point conversion to put MHS up 21-14.

The fourth quarter was a struggle for both teams on offense, as neither were able to score. However, MHS defense once again shutdown Niwot . Niwot made a run down the field with 1:08 left in the game, but the MHS defense finished the job they started and sent Niwot home, with a 7-4 season.

“Our defense played championship defense,” Casebier said. “The saying goes defense wins championships.”

Casebier said he thought his guys were nervous entering the game and that once the team got over their nerves, they were able to get the job done.

MHS quarterback Nathan Robertson said Montrose made too many mistakes in the first, but that once MHS scored it changed the game.

“We had great field position and once we were only down 14-7, it just gave us life again,” Robertson said.

MHS will take on Greeley West at home next weekend. Robertson said the team had a lot of mistakes to correct before next weekend to be ready. Casebier said the win over Niwot wasn’t easy, but that wins in the playoffs weren’t supposed to come easy. However, Casebier said he was feeling positive about next weekend’s game.

“You live to play another game,” Casebier said. “We have one of the best teams in the state coming next weekend. But we like our chances against anyone at our place.”