No. 1 Montrose rolls past No. 8 Fountain-Fort Carson in Class 4A quarterfinals
By Tom Hoganson/CHSAANow.com
Photo: Anna Lynn Winfrey/Montrose Daily Press
MONTROSE – On a chilly night, the No. 1-seeded Montrose football team hosted eighth-seeded Fountain-Fort Carson in the Class 4A state quarterfinals.
Montrose won, 48-14, to move one step closer to the team’s first title since 1950.
“Another great night to be a Montrose Indian,” Montrose head coach Brett Mertens said. “What an amazing crowd again and I thought the boys played a great. We are super happy to get a victory and look forward to the challenge in the semifinals.”
Both teams struggled on offense early but Montrose righted itself first, driving down the field and scoring on a 27-yard run by Ethan Hartman to put Montrose on the board in the first quarter.
The Indians would go on to score five second-quarter touchdowns. Hartman scored from 42 yards out, Blake Griffin scored from one, two and 11 yards out and Hartman’s third touchdown of the game was a 16-yard run that gave his team a 42-0 lead at halftime while the Montrose defense held the visiting Trojans without a first down in the first half.
“We came out and hit them right off the bat,” Montrose senior Luke Barney said. “Best first half I’ve been a part of. We were super ready to play a tough football game and we were super prepared to stop their offense. We played our hearts out and played for each other. I’m so thankful to be a part of it.”
A touchdown pass from Dezmen Oliver to Isaac Logo put Fountain-Fort Carson on the board and a Montrose fumble led to a touchdown by Tai Faavae and it was 42-14. With about 20 seconds left in the game, Austin Zimmer went 70 yards for a touchdown.
“Montrose is a well coached team, they were well prepared for us on both sides of the ball,” Fountain-Fort Carson head coach Jake Navotny said. “Their size was hard for us to handle and they play aggressively. Coach Mertens did a great job preparing his team and all the credit to them”
Montrose now awaits the winner of a Saturday afternoon contest between Erie and Palmer Rdige in the semifinals next week.
