The Montague football team’s drive for a second straight state championship came to an end on Saturday with a 31-13 loss to Lansing Catholic on the road in a Division 6 regional championship game.
The Wildcats finished the season with an 8-4 record, a share of the West Michigan Conference championship and a district title.
Montague was the final area team standing in the state high school football playoffs. Muskegon County will not have a team in the state finals for the first time since 2011.
Montague led 7-0 after one quarter following a three-yard touchdown run by Dylan Everett and the PAT kick by Andrew Kooi.
[1]But Lansing Catholic, ranked No. 1 in the state, took control in the second quarter with four unanswered scores.
The Cougars collected two touchdown catches by Alex Watters, covering 25 and 3 yards, respectively. They added another TD reception and a field goal before halftime, and led 24-7 at the break.
Waters added another touchdown with a one-yard run in the third quarter. Montague closed out the scoring in the fourth with a 22-yard pass from Kooi to Izak Jarka.
Everett finished with 99 yards rushing on 25 carries for Montague. Kooi completed 5 of 19 passes for 62 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Collton Blankstrom led the Montague defense with nine tackles while Jarka had eight.
[2]