That now goes for games at home, on the road and both in and out of Southwestern League play.
Bouncing back from last week’s bitter overtime defeat at home to Rock Canyon, the Indians rallied from a double-digit second half deficit to stun Central 34-31 Friday night at a rocking Stocker Stadium.
 Montrose's Jordan Passehl leaps over a defender for a gain during second quarter action against Central at Stocker Stadium Friday night. (William Woody / Daily Press) Advertisement |
On the ensuing defensive stand, Indians’ sophomore linebacker Tanner Stuart picked off Central’s quarterback, Holden Reed, to clinch the win.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we really took a step forward tonight,” said Montrose coach Todd Casebier, whose Indians (1-0 SWL, 6-1 overall) are back in the driver’s seat of SWL play once again. “We played a great second half, and that was the difference. “Central is so explosive. We just had to take the ball out of their hands.”
The Indians’ final drive did just that.
It featured the full buffet of Montrose’s four-headed running attack behind its explosive front line.
Jordan Passehl (game-high 30 carries for 183 yards rushing), Braxton Franz (13-70), Glayden Berry (15-66) and Robertson (9-55) put on a dizzying display on how to close out a victory.
All the more sweet after last week’s late-game miscues.
“We needed this one bad,” said Robertson, who sat out the final half of last week’s loss with a concussion.
He seemed to show no ill effects Friday night, punctuating the final score with a fist-pump in the end zone that had the Montrose faithful believing again in its squad — ranked sixth among Colorado’s 4A teams.
“Jordan had a huge block on that last run,” Roberston said. “We did all those little things right in the second half and it paid off for us.”
As dominating as the Indians’ ground game was to close, the first half featured fireworks that rivaled last week’s drama.
Three touchdowns in 29 seconds will do that to any game.
After Central went up 14-10 with :59 to play in the half, Passehl ripped through the middle of the Warrior kick return team before bouncing down the right sideline for a 77-yard touchdown.
That only gave Montrose a brief 17-14 lead, though, as Central came back with the unthinkable.
Vandy Sanchez fielded the ensuing kickoff at his own 3, sliced right and then left, eventually finding the sideline for another score and a 21-17 halftime lead.
“We’ve got a lot to work on, obviously,” Casebier said. “But it’s great to go work on them after a big win to open league play.”
See Sunday’s Daily Press for more on the Indians’ thrilling comeback to open Southwestern League play.
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