No. 5 Montrose football begins year with win over Grand Junction Central
MONTROSE — Montrose, ranked No. 5 in Class 4A, opened its year with a win over Grand Junction Central on Friday.
Montrose jumped out to a 21-0 lead, and didn’t look back en route to a 44-20 victory.
“I really liked our effort and attitude throughout the game,” Montrose coach Brett Mertens said. “We need to fix our penalties and obviously can’t turn the ball over.”
Cole Simmons scored from four and 41 yards out in the first quarter, and then Emmert Kasteneick scored from 53 yards away to make it 21-0.
In the second quarter, Raul Martinez sacked Grand Junction Central quarterback Michael Gohn for a saftey, making it 23-0, before Central’s Joe Carol picked up a fumbled handoff and went 80 yards for the touchdown.
But Montrose wasn’t done. Riley Barnhill scored from five yards out, pushing the lead to 30-7.
The Warriors scored late in the first half on a pass from Gohn to Cole Taylor to make it 30-13 at halftime.
In the third, Trent Blundell went 20 yards to put Montrose up 37-13. Each team scored once more in the fourth, including a 35-yard run from Kastendeick.
“Our o-line dominated tonight all across the board,” Simmons said. “Our running back fakes were phenomenal. Also really impressed with our defense tonight as one whole unit.”
