Montesano kicks way past Black Hills

First defense to get a stop wins.

That statement proved out as Montesano emerged from a wild and ragged non-conference opener with a 29-28 win over Black Hills on Friday night at Tumwater District Stadium.

After a prodigious first half of offensive football – eight touchdowns worth – only three points were scored in the second half. Those three points – on a 30-yard field goal by Montesano’s Sean McNealley with five minutes left in the game – were the winning difference as the Bulldogs overcame a 28-19 deficit.

“He hit it solid,” Montesano coach Terry Jensen said of McNealley’s kick, which was set up when a dribbled punt snap by Black Hills and subsequent desperate run came up a yard short at the Wolves’ 34-yard line.

Evan Truax, who piled up 142 yards rushing, gained 19 on the first play, and three plays later McNealley drove it home.

“They’re a very good football team,” Black Hills coach Jack Zilla said of the Class 1A Bulldogs. “They’re well-coached, they’re sound, they hit hard, and it was a one-point football game.”

Both teams scored on their first two possessions. Black Hills took the opening kickoff and went 80 yards in nine plays, seven of them rushes by Tom Turner, the last of which was a 5-yard TD run.

Montesano countered with an eight-play, 63-yard drive capped by a 12-yard touchdown run by Truax. Black Hills was right back at it with another 5-yard TD run by Turner to make it 14-7 early in the second quarter.

Montesano quarterback McNealley wasted no time finding Doug Benedict for a 49-yard touchdown. Montesano trailed 14-13 after the point-after kick failed.

Montesano broke serve first.

Turner dropped back for the first punt of the game, and the snap dribbled at his feet. A charging Jackson Wargo blocked the hurried punt and absorbed the ball into his 285-pound frame, rumbling 30 yards to the Black Hills 5. One play later, Stefan Green carried it in from the 3, and Montesano had its first lead at 19-13.

Turner answered quickly, taking off on an 82-yard sprint to the end zone on the second play of the Wolves’ next possession.

Turner, asenior, piled up 201 yards rushing, including 166 in the first half.

When the Wolves fell on a Truax fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Alsin took one play to make it pay, hitting Mitchell Stuart for a 19-yard TD.

With Black Hills up 28-19, the Bulldogs found their way back into the game. After a short kickoff set Montesano up on the Black Hills 48, a 12-yard completion by McNealley on fourth down plus a 17-yard scamper by Truax put the Bulldogs in position for a five-yard TD run by McNealley to get it to 28-26 before halftime.

In the second half, both teams showed offensive flashes, but neither could dent the end zone. The Wolves stopped Montesano on a fourth-and-1 at the goal line, and the Bulldogs stopped Black Hills on that critical punt play.

Jensen praised the leadership of senior McNealley, who was making his first varsity start as quarterback. He knew what to expect from kicker McNealley. He’s in his third year at the job.