Cougars Near-Perfect in Shutout of Richard Montgomery

On paper, it was not a typical win for the Quince Orchard Cougars. QO totaled just four first downs all night and the game's rushing leader, Tyrell Williams, amassed just 55 yards the entire game. 

Still, by the time Friday night's game was over, the Cougars managed to put more points on the board than they had in any of their previous six games and dominated the visiting Richard Montgomery Rockets, 44-0, before a homecoming crowd at the Cougar Dome.

"We did what we were supposed to do," Quince Orchard coach Dave Mencarini said after the game. "We came out healthy. We were able to rest some guys and we did what we needed to do."

While Mencarini was able to rest many of his starters after just a couple series, one player's absence altogether had many fans talking. Running back Mark Green, whose 959 yards on the year place him among the area's best in rushing and first in the county, didn't play at all Friday night. Mencarini quickly dismissed rumors that Green was nursing a possible shoulder injury and said that Green had simply earned the night off.

"I mean, the guy's carried the ball like 8 million times," Mencarini quipped. "I wanted to give him some rest and let some of these other guys get the work."

Williams and Kenny Lang picked up the load for Green and both scored two touchdowns apiece in the first half. Quarterback Lucas Bogart also got to rest most of the game after he was replaced by sophomore Mikey Murtaugh. Both Bogart and Murtaugh had 22 yards passing.

Quince Orchard (7-0) led 37-0 at the break and earned a running clock in the first half, thanks to both of Lang's and Williams' touchdowns as well as a pair of safeties, including one on a Richard Montgomery punt attempt in the second quarter. D'Andre Johnson also had a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first half. 

Lang had rushing touchdowns of 11 and 12 yards and Williams had rushing scores of 11 and 24 yards. 

Quince Orchard took its foot off the pedal in the second half after Keano Wilder's 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put the exclamation point on the team's first shutout of the 2011 season.

The Cougars controlled every phase of the game. One of the reasons for the lack of first downs and low total yardage was because they were constantly in short-field situations thanks to a solid defensive effort that allowed the Rockets to only enter QO territory once. When they did, late in the third quarter, Malcolm Brown intercepted a pass. Richard Montgomery ended the first half with negative yards and never threatened to score. 

Quince Orchard now travels to Clarksburg Friday to take on the 5-2 Coyotes.

"They're a good football team," Mencarini said. "We're going to have our hands full."