With help from a late goal line stop, the Montford Mustangs rallied to escape a hard-fought battle and secure a win over the Cobb Cubs.
Cobb and Montford came into the game riding high, both teams undefeated through two games. The duel at Chiles High School on Thomasville Rd would be heavily contested. The Cubs won the toss and deferred, electing to have Montford take the game’s first possession, and the decision paid off. Although Montford’s quarterback Jase Dault found receiver Simon Pettion multiple times, Cobb’s defense held, forcing a turnover on downs around the Cobb 35.
The Cubs handed the ball off to running back Toddveon Mathis on the second play of their drive, and Mathis slipped through the line, breaking tackles dodging Mustang defenders all the way to the end zone for a 65 yard TD.
Facing the Cubs’ strong run defense, Montford decided to pass on its next possession. Early in the second quarter, Cobb’s Jhalin Reaves read the play, picked off a pass from Dault, paused, then took off down the sideline, outrunning everyone into the end zone. Cobb’s second score extended the lead to 14-0.
The Cubs carried their momentum into halftime, with multiple big tackles from Nyckhel Herron keeping the Mustangs from posing a scoring threat despite a big run from Del Prado.
In the third quarter, despite a 35 yard run from Mathis, the Montford defense held near their goal line and forced a turnover. With the Mustangs awkwardly close to their endzone, Cobb was looking for a safety. To the dismay of their fans, they wouldn’t get it. Jase Dault fired over the middle and found receiver AJ Henry. He split the opposing defense and then veered to the sideline. Henry took it 95 yards all the way to the end zone. The Mustangs completed the conversion, cutting the lead to 14-8.
Cobb kickoff returner Ray Swanson then nearly took matters into his own hands to get the score back. He caught the kickoff on the fly, weaved through the middle, got to the sideline, toetapping to stay inbounds, then nearly broke free before being forced out after a 38 yard return deep into Montford territory.
After the teams traded several possessions, the clock was running down and Montford needed another stop. They got one. Linebacker Eli Barksdale and D-lineman Mason Rudd had major tackles in the Cobb backfield to give the Mustangs a turnover on downs late in the fourth quarter. A series of runs by backs Dominic Scott and DJ Read pushed the ball downfield and closer and closer to the Cobb end zone. Then, after two running plays went nowhere, Jase Dault threw a screen pass to Simon Pettion for the score, as the Montford bleacher section roared with support. The game was tied 14-14.
With less than two minutes on the clock, Montford had to complete the conversion to take the lead. Cobb called a timeout, attempting to take the wind out of the sails of Montford. DJ Read ran the ball into the end zone and made the lead 16-14.
The Cubs would mount a rally, with short passes to get into Mustang territory. A controversial unnecessary roughness penalty was called on Montford, putting the Cubs within striking distance near the 25 with 45 seconds left. But when Cobb went for the pass, DJ Read picked it off, sealing the game for Montford with a 16-14 final.
Montford, 3-0, the last unbeaten team in Leon County, will play Swift Creek next. Cobb, 2-1, now faces Raa.
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