Summit Football Dominates Montgomery in Season Opener

SUMMIT, NJ – Summit football outclassed a young Montgomery team Saturday afternoon, but truth be told, the Hilltoppers weren’t really running on all cylinders for much of the first half of their season opener.  It was, in fact, a 24-second sequence late in the second quarter that dealt the Cougars a knockout punch, after which Summit rolled to a 46-7 blowout win at Investors Bank Field.

Montgomery (0-2) had forced the Hilltoppers to settle for a 33-yard Sam Morris field goal with 2:32 on the clock, keeping their deficit to two possessions.  Trailing 16-0, they had a chance to swing the game’s momentum, but a botched snap on their next play from scrimmage resulted in a safety when junior linebacker Daniel Licciardi pounced on the Cougars’ ball carrier in the end zone.

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Senior Shane Walsh took the ensuing free kick 66 yards to the house, and just like that, Summit’s lead was 25.  It was just one of a slew of huge plays Walsh made in Summit’s rout.

“The opener is everything,” Walsh said of the game’s importance. “You can really set the momentum going into the rest of the season. You’ve got a lot to prove [in a season opener].”

Walsh, a running back, proved that he is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. He got Summit (1-0) on the board with a two-yard plunge with just under four minutes left in the first and split the Cougar secondary to haul in a 30-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Cole Sabol with 53 seconds to go before the intermission.

“It’s whatever Coach [John] Liberato needs me to do,” Walsh said. “He is really good at mixing it up with the passing game and I follow whatever he says I need to do.”

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Walsh carried the ball eight times for 43 yards, scored on the aforesaid 30-yard TD and 66-yard kick return and chipped in on defense. He had a would-be 71-yard scoring run called back on a holding penalty in the second quarter, as well.

The Hilltopper running back rotation – comprised of Walsh, junior Alex Schwark, senior Ethan Lawton and sophomore Gavin Schnall – combined for 109 yards in the first half, opening things up for Sabol and the air attack. That was without their bell cow, senior Henrique Guicardi, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the preseason.

“He is my guy,” Walsh said.  “Everyone felt it in the locker room. It was emotional going into this week. We were really playing for him today.”

Sabol went 8-for-12 for 122 yards on the day, tossing a dime to senior wide receiver Oscar Marx for a 15-yard score in the second to put Summit up, 13-0. Morris, a senior two-way lineman who doubles as the team’s kicker, drilled four touchbacks and was 3-for-4 on extra points.

It was a statement victory for Summit, who goes on the road to battle Hillside on Sept. 14. The Hilltoppers feel they have unfinished business and are looking to make another postseason run—and this time finish the job—after a heartbreaking sectional semifinal loss a year ago.

“That is what we are trying to do every single year,” said Walsh. “Nothing is going to change that. Going into Hillside, we just have to get ready, prepare and carry it through.”

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