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MONTGOMERY: Boyle’s return boosts Cougars

MHS football runs over Ridge

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   One year away from the Montgomery High football team was plenty for Ryan Boyle.
   After showing a great deal of promise as a freshman in the program, Boyle moved to North Carolina as a sophomore. But his family returned to Montgomery over the summer and Boyle is back with the Cougars, making an impact on the field.
   ”I was looking forward to it,” said Boyle, the junior running back who rushed for 142 yards on 31 carries to help Montgomery to a 21-7 win over Ridge on Friday night. “I mainly played freshman ball, but I was all over. I played some JV and a little varsity in the Howell game in the state playoffs. I was so excited to be coming back. I knew we could have something special my junior and senior years and it killed me to move away. When we were moving back and I knew I was going to get to play with these guys again I was excited.”
   Boyle had 235 yards rushing in the Cougars’ season-opening loss to Union. He was then part of a balanced offense attack for the Cougars against Ridge. He and the rest of the Montgomery runners accounted for 253 yards on the ground, while quarterback Josh Reinson completed all nine of his passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.
   ”I thought we did a real nice job completing passes tonight,” said Montgomery coach Zoran Milich, whose team did not win its first game last year until the season finale. “I thought we took another step in the evolution of our offense. We were primarily ground the other night. Tonight we connected and that was the most important thing.
   ”We play a lot of real good, athletic teams and I think this offense is good for our kids. Kids like Sam Oltmans can catch. The idea is run, run, run, and when you pass you need to make it. Tonight we kept it going and going. Josh is a nice weapon. He has really taken command of the offense and is just going to get better and better.”
   The addition of Boyle helps. In two games he already has 377 yards rushing and has carried the ball over 30 times in each game.
   ”It gets interesting,” Boyle said. “My body hates me the next morning, but I enjoy it. We’re excited about how we are playing. Teams are sleeping on us. We have a great running attack. We have a pass game that stepped up tonight. We are on the rise.”
   Milich, who already had a nice core of returning players, was thrilled once he found out he would have Boyle back in the mix.
   ”I was really excited,” Milich said. “I kind of knew in January but was asked not to say anything until March. Obviously, he has been a big boost. He probably would have started as a sophomore. He was getting a lot of time in the summer and then he moved. And then we got him back.”
   The Cougars nearly picked up a shutout against the Red Devils on Friday. They had scored on touchdown runs by Oltmans and Reinson, then added another on a Reinson to Matt Flood pass. Ridge didn’t score until the final minute when it blocked a punt and raced into the end zone for a score.
   ”The defense did a nice job,” Milich said. “They rolled a shutout until that last punt. We have to work on that. That was sloppy and that is part of the evolution of this team. We have to get better at that. It’s nice to win the home opener. Our kids needed a win here. It’s been a long stretch with 14 out of 15 losses.
   ”We could see we were making progress but some people measure you by wins. Our kids have been working hard the last two years. There have been improvements and some injuries and the kids have really stuck together. They are the ones who hung in there and never once quit or folded from a year ago to this year.”
   The other four Packet-area teams split their games over the weekend. West Windsor-Plainsboro South improved to 2-0 with a 35-0 win over Trenton. The Hun School topped Episcopal Academy, 20-13, in its opener on Friday night. WW-P North dropped a 48-6 decision to Notre Dame, while Princeton was a 41-0 loser against Burlington Township.
   South received a pair of Chris Evans to Marty Flatley touchdown passes in its win, while Chris Jones and Brian Schoenauer also ran for touchdowns. The Pirates’ final touchdown was a special one as senior Thomas O’Connor scored in what was likely his final high school game.
   ”He’s going to be out for the year,” WW-P South coach Todd Smith said. “He is having surgery on Tuesday, but they let him play in the game. We got near the end zone and we ran Tom on the field and he got into the end zone. He ruptured a ligament in his hand and has to have it repaired right away or lose the use of his index and pinky fingers.
   ”He was supposed to have the surgery last Thursday but it got pushed back. The doctor said he could play. We buddy taped his ring finger and he played defense and special teams.”