Football: Mounties roll Bloomfield in 49-13 Investors Cup victory — Rapid Reaction

by Andrew Garda

garda@montclairlocal.news

BLOOMFIELD — As the Montclair Mounties warmed up on Foley Field Wednesday, they had two critical goals for the night. First, to continue their undefeated season with a win over Bloomfield High School. And second — perhaps more critically — get out of the game without any major injuries.

They accomplished both items on that to-do list as they cruised to a 49-13 win over the Bengals in a game which will, at least for now, end the Thanksgiving rivalry game.

With the Sectional Championship game at MetLife just over a week away, the Montclair Mounties' coaching staff knew they had to balance the desire to continue their undefeated season with the need to be healthy as they faced Union City on December 1.

While this is an enormously deep team, losing a Danny Webb, Tarrin Earle or Willie Matthews would have been disastrous.

However, the offensive line did a stellar job protecting Earle and opening holes for Webb, while Matthews continued his reign of terror on opposing offenses without missing a beat.

Earle continues to carve up opposing secondaries, whether on short passes to Collin Callahan, long jump balls to Charles Murphy or deep driving passes to DJ Williams. There's very little to do when Earle has time to read the defense post-snap, and his ability to read the defense while its in motion has to be among the best in the state.

Webb continues to impress as well, both when he is dancing through the wash at the line of scrimmage, as well as tip toeing down the sideline for a score. In a season where he hasn't  touched the ball 100 times due to blowouts and some nagging injuries, Webb has still put together some impressive totals, with over 1,300 yards and 23 touchdowns.

The offense was firing on all cylinders on Wednesday, as was the defense, led by Matthews and a pick six by Walt King. If Bloomfield was a tune-up for Union City — who just beat the Bengals 35-0 in the semifinals — the Mounties appear ready to go.

Aside from claiming the Investors Trophy for a second straight year, the Mounties hit several other important milestones.

First, Webb became the All Time leader in touchdowns by a Mounties player, as he scored four times Wednesday night. His 79 total eclipses Khalif Herbin's 77, and that's with one more game to go.

Along with that, the 2017 Mounties team became the highest scoring Mounties team in a single season.

Add those to Willie Matthew's continuing additions to his tackling record and it's clear this has been a landmark year for the Mounties.

DJ Williams, who scored a touchdown for the second straight game and flew all over the field on defense, was awarded the MVP for the Mounties and a scholarship.

For the Mounties, their 11th 1-0 season was a big win, but still one shy of what their ultimate goal is. They'll enjoy the victory, but it's back to work bright and early Friday morning to prepare for the Soaring Eagles and their 12th season.

For a complete breakdown of the game as well as quotes, check out the November 30th edition of the Montclair Local.