Montour senior running back Julian Durden rushed for 239 yards and scored three touchdowns to help the Spartans defeat the Colts 49-14 in Friday night’s high school football season opener at Chartiers Valley.
The two teams most recently played each other in last season's opener when the Spartans defeated the Colts 35-14.
Although Montour is ranked first in many local WPIAL AAA football rankings, Chartiers Valley head coach Chris Saluga did not think this home opener would go the same way as last year.
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“We knew Montour was a good opponent, but we expected to do a lot better,” Saluga said. “We know how we played and now know what to work on.”
More than 8,000 Chartiers Valley fans welcomed Montour, and despite the hot and humid night, the packed stadium came alive when the two teams took the field.
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Montour’s first possession of the game lasted just shy of a minute and a half and took four plays for the 31-yard touchdown drive. Senior running back, Anthony Rippole, punched the ball in from the one, putting the Spartans on the score board early.
The Colts could do nothing with their next drive and handed the ball back to Montour. But the Chartiers Valley defense began to step up when seniors Niko Mamula and Andrew Johnson sacked the quarterback, Buechel, bouncing Montour back four yards.
Senior quarterback Dillon Buechel, however, dominatte the Colts defense after he completed a pass to Massey for a 45-yard completion and Montour touchdown, giving the Spartans a 14-0 lead with 5:59 left in the quarter.
Chartiers Valley once again struggled on its next possession. However, the Spartans scored on Durden’s 11-yard touchdown run to basically put the game out of reach by the end of the first quarter.
Chartiers Valley started to gain some ground on a 10-play, 80-yard drive to start the second quarter. The Colts marched down the field picking up small chunks of yards on the ground while holding onto possession giving their defense a chance to catch their breath. Junior running back Michael Boulous
Finished the drive with a 4-yard run, putting six points on the board for the home team.
Montour immediately countered with another two touchdowns. The Spartans scored on every possession of the first half giving Montour and had a 35-7 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Colts scored on senior quarterback Wayne Capers’s 7-yard rush into the endzone.
But Durden finished the Colts on the next drive when he ran 80 yards for a touchdown. After the Colts could only manage three yards on three plays the Spartans again took possession and it resulted in the final Montour touchdown of the game.
Chartiers Valley stays at home next week and plays in a Big 8 Conference game Friday against Trinity.
“Next week I expect us to bounce back for some great football,” Saluga said.