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Montour defense stands tall against Central Valley rushing attack in Week Zero victory

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Saturday, August 24, 2024 | 12:38 AM

Breaking long runs can be a big part of Central Valley’s offense, especially with a 200-pound running back that has a hard-to-tackle reputation.

Yet the biggest plays on this night belonged to a Montour defense that schemed for this matchup for a while. Central Valley running back Jance Henry Jr. still scored twice Friday night, but Montour pulled out a 24-14 victory in Week Zero by bottling up the Warriors’ usually tough ground game.

Central Valley gained 154 yards, but it took 39 carries.

“We just knew that we had to stop the run,” Montour senior safety Daniel Batch said. “We did a lot of hitting during camp, getting us ready to hit against Jance, because we knew he’s a power back. He can really run that ball.”

Henry rushed for 104 yards on 22 carries, but his two longest runs covered just 16 and 11 yards. The 5-foot-8, 204-pound sophomore has a double-digit list of college offers that includes Pitt and West Virginia.

But Central Valley labored for room to run against a Montour defense that brought back its top four tacklers from last season.

“It takes more than one guy to take him down,” Montour middle linebacker Cole Midili said. “We were really good at gang tackling him. … We knew that they had a strong run game. That’s what we prepped in practice. We knew they were going to try to run it down our throats.”

Montour quarterback Trey Hopper passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns, including a 42-yarder to receiver Marcus Battles early in the fourth quarter that stretched a three-point lead to 10.

A first-year starter, Hopper completed 12 of 20 passes.

The senior had a solid second half, completing 5 of 7 passes for 125 yards and both of his touchdowns. Hopper found AJ Alston for a 26-yarder in the third quarter.

“He got into a rhythm,” Montour coach Lou Cerro said. “He’s very competitive. He wants to do well.”

Montour kicker Brayden Davin scored the game’s first points on a 28-yard field goal in the first quarter, and Batch scored the first touchdown on a 2-yard run in the second to lead 10-0.

Henry accounted for both of Central Valley’s touchdowns, reaching the end zone on a 16-yard run in the second quarter and a 1-yarder in the third. But Montour held strong against Henry in some short-yardage situations.

In the first half alone, Central Valley went 1 for 6 on third-down conversions and 3 for 5 on fourth. On one second-quarter drive, Henry picked up a first down on fourth-and-three at CV’s 38-yard line, but was stopped for no gain four plays later on a fourth-and-four near midfield.

“We had a point of emphasis this week that we had to stop the running game,” Cerro said. “We were fortunate to stuff Henry on some big third downs. Mark (Lyons) is a good coach. Last year, he lined up in a power I and smashed us at the end of the game. Obviously, we prepared for that.”

Montour won 21-20 last season when both teams were in the Class 4A Parkway Conference. Central Valley has since dropped to 3A in the latest realignment this fall.

Montour took a 6-5 edge in the all-time series.

Central Valley (0-1) was expecting more from its offense, which brought back returning starters in the backfield, at quarterback and along the offensive line. Montour intercepted quarterback Steven Rutherford twice. The senior completed 7 of 19 passes for 205 yards, with Batch picking him off in the first quarter and Nino DiMichael in the second.

“We should be better there,” Central Valley coach Mark Lyons said of the offense. “We need to be better there.”

Montour scored on the game’s first possession for an early 3-0 lead. The Spartans leaned on running back Caden Halajcio and moved 68 yards in 11 plays to set up the field goal by Davin.

Halajcio finished with 87 yards on 18 carries.

Montour reached the end zone on its second possession, a 14-play, 76-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Batch to lead 10-0.

Central Valley’s first three possessions ended with two interceptions and a failed fourth-down run. But the Warriors got their offense going just before halftime. They drove 80 yards in nine plays, ending with a 16-yard touchdown run by Henry — his longest gain of the day. Henry scored with 34 seconds left, cutting Montour’s lead to 10-7 at half.

Each team scored once in the third.

Montour extended its lead to 17-7 on Alston’s 26-yard touchdown from Hopper, capping a 66-yard drive. Central Valley answered late in the third with an 80-yard drive, ending with a 1-yard touchdown run by Henry.

Montour entered the fourth holding a slim 17-14 lead. In a defensive-minded game, two of longest plays of the night — the 33- and 42-yard catches by Battles in the fourth — helped seal the win for Montour.

Those kind of big plays were largely missing from Central Valley’s night.

“At the end of the day, we didn’t make enough of those plays in space,” Lyons said. “It seemed like we couldn’t find any space to make those plays.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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