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On the opening night of the 2009 high school football season, the Montville Mustangs took the field against Caldwell. On a rainy Friday evening, a packed home crowd witnessed an intense defensive battle that showcased a total of six turnovers, including 4 lost fumbles in the first quarter. But it would be Montville that finally broke open the close contest with a big fourth quarter to earn the win.
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On the very first play, Montville forced a fumble on the kickoff and recovered the football inside the 20 yard line. But on the Mustangs' initial offensive drive, the rust showed as they fumbled a snap and wasted a golden opportunity. The rain continued to dominate as the first quarter brought about four more turnovers, three of the fumble variety.
After settling down a bit, the teams showed their offensive talents as each team side put up seven points in the second quarter. Both sides converted on short touchdown runs, the latter being a quarterback sneak by Montville's Jordan Gajdos after a long run by Matt Chierici all the way down to the goal line.
After a conservative 3rd quarter, the Mustangs stuck to their bread and butter and dominated with a power running game in the 4th. Early in the stanza, a long drive was capped off by a 10-yard TD run by Joe Colella. The home team never looked back as they sealed the win with 2 touchdown runs by an inspired fullback Slade Eigenmann. After another defensive stop, the Mustangs ran the clock out to seal their first football win of the fall sports season.
The green and black jerseys met at midfield to celebrate their hard fought victory. An ecstatic coach Gerry Gallagher couldn’t have been happier with his team's performance. "You're playing a state championship team from a year ago that has a number of people returning," he noted, "and whenever we play Caldwell it's a war."
Montville moves into league play in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference with a visit to High Point next week, followed by a home matchup with Pope John on September 26. -- Anthony Mulvihill for Jersey Sports Now
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