Its body of work now covers entire halves of football.
The canvas, simply put, is any team that now enters Montrose Community Stadium.
 Indians coach Todd Casebier exhorts linemen Troy Ryder and Josh Mora with the Indians leading 21-0 over the Standley Gators. Both Mora and Ryder, 300 pound linemen, were cited for their play on both sides of the ball Saturday, according to MHS coaches. They are juniors. (Daily Press photo / Tim Frates) Advertisement |
The victory propels Montrose, the No. 4 seed, into the quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years under head coach Todd Casebier. Traveling from the Front Range next to face the Indians is No. 5 Heritage-Littleton on Saturday. Kickoff for the two 10-1 teams will again be at 1 p.m.
Heritage, which advanced by virtue of its 28-6 victory over No. 12 Ralston Valley on Friday night, certainly knows first hand that these are a different batch of Indians playing football right now. Heritage coaches were present for Saturday’s rout.
“Montrose is very physical, and they seem awfully tough to beat at their own place,” said Standley Lake coach Don Morse, who knows Heritage’s personnel well. “Heritage has more speed. But they’ve got to find a way to come here and win.”
That’s been a tall task for noteworthy teams making the trek into Montrose the past two weeks.
After sprinting out to a 24-0 halftime lead the previous week against a one-loss Durango team, the Indians chose the second half to dispatch of the Gators (8-3).
Montrose tailback Jordan Passehl, who found the rushing very tough to come by in the first half, erupted for 96 yards and a pair of 7-yard scores after intermission. Previously, quarterback Nathan Robertson’s 1-yard keeper for paydirt proved to be the game-winner for Montrose midway through the second quarter. Moreover, Robertson’s nifty 12-yard keeper for his second touchdown did more than just open the second-half track meet for the Indians: it gave them the two-touchdown padding that wasn’t going to be denied on this afternoon.
All four scoring drives were earned for Montrose on Saturday, with each being of the 10-play, 70-yard garden variety.
“We imposed our will over Standley Lake’s,” said Casebier, whose Indians have now won five straight. “We’ve still got to clean things up, but we continue to improve in big game conditions ... That’s key this time of year.”
Standley Lake, founded in 1988 and making its first-ever football playoff appearance, couldn’t rally when Montrose left the door open in the first half. A Robertson interception in the end zone, a Glayden Berry fumble of a punt near midfield and a missed 30-yard field goal by Ricky Zataran never cost the Indians, as Standley Lake could only muster seven total yards of offense in the first half against the swarming Montrose defense.
“We were fortunate,” Casebier said. “You can’t leave points on the field like that in the playoffs. That will cost us next week against a team like Heritage.”
Encouraging for Montrose was how it kept its collective head held high, though: Robertson rallied for 53 yards rushing on 14 carries to go along with two pretty pass completions for a combined 66 yards; Berry latched on to one of those passes for 41 yards and also slashed inside for 104 yards on 21 carries and Zataran was perfect on his four PATs, impressive considering what become a very sloppy playing surface.
Meanwhile, the Montrose defense was suffocating, limiting the Gators to 120 total yards and shutting them out for the first time this fall.
“We had a good scout on them and set up a scheme that we felt would work,” said Eric Handke, the Indians’ defense coordinator. “But then we found a way to really do the extra things and bust this game open.
“What you are seeing these kids do on defense in game situations is simply what they are doing in practice every day — they are really improving together, as a unit.”
And Montrose only gets stronger next week, great news now that the field is down to only eight teams statewide in the ultra-competitive 4A bracket: Junior linebacker Bryce Gaber, the Indians’ leading tackler, returns from a minor knee injury suffered early in the Durango game.
The loss was a bitter pill for the Gators to swallow. They were No. 17 seeds after back-to-back 6-4 seasons the past two years.
“We had our hands full here today,” said Morse, reflecting amidst a group of players fighting back tears in the bitter cold and driving, wet snow. “It was a special season for us, but we’ve got a lot to look forward to with seven starters back on both sides of the ball.
“They got a good taste of playoff football here.”
And so did a gritty band of Montrose players, who now appear to be on that mission that has eluded the program in recent years.
“This feels really, really good,” said senior Braxton Franz, a difference-maker from his defensive end spot Saturday. “And we’re not through yet, either.”
GettinSerious wrote on Nov 16, 2009 10:38 AM:
Derrik Pulliam wrote on Nov 15, 2009 3:40 PM:
Indian Fan wrote on Nov 15, 2009 9:15 AM:
Great game yesterday boys! "
indain fan wrote on Nov 15, 2009 8:32 AM: