MHS football continues march toward finals

Leadership of Garcia, seniors key to Cougars

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   Zoran Milich knows that when you come right down to it, there isn’t any real secret to the success the Montgomery High football team has enjoyed this year.
   ”This group works harder than any group we’ve had, as a whole,” said Milich, whose team will play at Howell tonight at 7 p.m. in the Central Jersey Group IV semifinals. “We’ve had individual kids that have worked hard. But this group as a whole, they’ve worked incredibly hard. They did speed work in the winter, spring and summer. They spent three-quarters of the year working with Chuck Mount. Every one of them has sacrificed. And the weight room is always packed.
   ”A culture has been created where the kids know if they want to have a chance to be successful they have to have a commitment there. They’ve done everything from yoga to spin classes in the summer. I think those things have helped us stay calm and focused. I give the kids a lot of credit.”
   The Montgomery players have responded with the best season in school history. They have qualified for the state playoffs for the first time and bring an 8-1 record into tonight’s game at top-seeded Howell.
   ”In the offseason we put in a lot of work,” said senior co-captain Chris Garcia. “We did the Chuck Mount workouts, we took yoga classes, we did a lot of speed and agility workouts. We were in the weight room every day. So far, all of that work has paid off. We’ve worked real hard and made a lot of strides.
   ”This is a senior class that has a lot of leadership and we all have the mentality that if we work hard, it will pay off on the field.”
   Garcia is one of the leaders of a senior class that has helped the Cougars to their most successful season ever. The group won seven games as freshmen, then were part of back-to-back 3-7 seasons at the varsity level. This year has been the breakthrough year.
   ”He’s arguably one of the best leaders we’ve every had,” said Milich, whose team opened the playoffs with a 34-17 win over South Brunswick last week. “He does all the little things that a captain has to do. He’s a natural leader. He takes responsibility and he works his tail off. He’s a kid who sees the big picture. He’s not concerned with stats. He is concerned with winning. He’s all about this team reaching its goals.”
   The Cougars have been doing a lot of winning this year. And they’ve done it with contributions on both sides of the ball. The offense has scored at least 24 points in all but one game this season, while the defense has allowed more than eight points just twice.
   ”Our first defense has been phenomenal,” Garcia said. “I think they’re giving up maybe six points a game, which is amazing. And we have a lot of weapons on offense. I think we complement each other really well. If one thing is not working, we can always go to something else.”
   Garcia has been a key component of the Montgomery offense. He lines up at various times as a tight end, receiver, and sometimes in a three-point stance like a back. He has caught a team-high 36 passes for 641 yards and 10 touchdowns.
   ”I run a 4.6, so I’m not the fastest guy out there,” said Garcia, who also plays along the defensive line for the Cougars. “But I’m not the slowest either. I think a lot of it has to do with being the kind of player I am. I feel like I’m stronger than the defensive backs and faster than the linebackers. So that creates matchup problems.
   ”We have some great receivers. (Andrew) Singley is like our secret weapon. J.T. (Tartacoff) is very fast. If the defense covers me, that opens things up for J.T. If they focus J.T., it opens things up for the rest of us.”
   Tartacoff has caught 29 passes this season, while Singley has 17 receptions and Devon Saunders has 15 out of the backfield. They give quarterback Kevin Watson plenty of options.
   The Cougars will need all those options against Howell, which is also 8-1 and opened the playoffs with a 27-21 win over Colts Neck last week.
   ”They’re a good team,” said Garcia, who is looking to continue his football at the college level next year. “They run the spread as well. But they run it differently than we do. They’re more of a run-and-shoot. And their defense is good. But we feel like if we play the way we’ve been playing and hopefully play relaxed, we’re hoping we can get a win.”
   Milich knows what to expect from the Rebels, and hopes his team can come away with another win and a spot in the CJ IV final.
   ”We’ve seen a lot of Howell and we know what they’re about,” Milich said. “They’re a top team in the Shore Conference, which is one of the best conferences in the state. They run a spread with the run-and-shoot and a lot of no huddle. It’s a game that will come down to execution. Both teams will try to do what they do and you either stop it or you don’t.”