SKILLMAN - A buzz word for Montgomery head coach Zoran Milich this preseason – at least when it comes to his own thought process – is patience. Realizing that there are more than a handful of first-year varsity players on the roster who need to make significant contributions make that buzz word more of a necessity than a preference.

But don’t confuse patience for indifference. The at times firey head coach tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve. Patience, progress and success, though, is all part of the process.

“Obviously you always want to be further along,’’ Milich said after his team’s first action of the preseason, a quad scrimmage against Cherry Hill East, Governor Livingston and Warren Hills. “But I have to be a realist and understand there are a lot of first year varsity guys out there.

“We are improving there is no doubt. How we improve to next Tuesday (the team’s next scrimmage), that will be a big indicator as to what type of team we’re going to be. You have to try to be patient along with it but there is a sense of urgency as we get closer to the season.”

Milich noted the play of his offense as a positive, with quarterback DJ Ruhlman distributing the ball extremely efficiently despite a re-worked receiving corps.

“DJ looked awesome,’’ Milich said. “He threw the ball and made every good choice. Zach Hartnett stepped up today at tight end. DaMario Jones had a nice day at receiver. As a sophomore, asking (Jones) to fill in the spot occupied by JT (Tartacoff) is tough but he looked good.”

Not everything was sunshine and rainbows for the Cougars, though. And the mis-step, no pun intended, happened at a key position.

“The only casualty is that (left tackle) Perry Weitzner went down on the third play. It’s something with his ankle. Hopefully it’s a sprain and not a fracture. It looked bad on tape. We’ll have a better idea on Saturday. We had to throw Mike Boyer in there at left tackle. He played there the whole game. It’s a prime position in our system, protecting the blind side. It was a big loss.”

But Milich understands that seasons are not measured by how you play in late August.

“The other teams were in their second scrimmage but the positive was we had a lot of kids who had not played varsity football go out there and get a lot better,’’ Milich said. “I thought our kids played pretty physical. Going out there for your first time and acclimating to game speed was important for our guys. Looking at the tape there are a lot of things that we can correct and that the kids can correct themselves. We can work on a lot of things.”

Milich also again noted the play of junior running back Billy Eldridge, who ran well in his first varsity action at that position. Milich went as far as to compare him to the successful graduated senior Kevin Azimi, who made his living as a power back in Milich’s spread offense.

“Billy Eldridge played a hard, physical game,’’ Milich said. “He needs to see the holes better but that comes with time. He’s a miniature Azimi. I remember (Azimi) running into people’s backs when he first started. But as time goes on he’ll know where the cutbacks are going to be. He made a nice one handed catch and went about 20 yards. It’s a great spot to build off of.”

 

 

SKILLMAN - It was late in the 2009 season when Montgomery head coach Zoran Milich took notice of something he hadn’t seen before.

Then sophomore Billy Eldridge was rotating himself in on the scout team as the running back to give starter Kevin Azimi a break, and made his head coach snap to attention.

“It was probably the last two weeks of last season, and I thought I saw some things that made me think he could be a pretty good running back,’’ Milich said.

Little did Milich know that thanks to an injury, the hulky junior would be running with his first team for most of training camp.

“Really, Billy was a kid who, coming into the year before Ryan Boyle moved away, we were kind of thinking, ‘how good is he going to be?’ ‘’ Milich said.

What he has been, for the first time in his high school career is healthy. He had back and shoulder injuries that limited what he could do throughout both of his first two seasons. As a sophomore he was limited to kicking duties. But if you take a look at the emerging running back in the weight room, you can tell that he is capable – purely from a physical and strength standpoint – to be an impact football player.

During his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech, offensive lineman Russ Grimm said it was a good thing to be able to take a man, and move him somewhere against his will. If you look at Eldridge, you know he has that kind of capability.

“We’ve kept him only on offense,’’ Milich said of Eldridge. “We don’t feel like we need to use him on defense at this point. And, we still need him to kick. When Ryan Jahnke went down with his injury, we needed Billy to step up and he’s given us exactly what we needed. You can see him getting more comfortable every time he carries the ball in practice.”

News & Notes

Monday’s triple session included some film study of the morning practice, and an afternoon practice only in uppers (shoulder pads and helmets) due to the beginnings of some injuries. Charlie Keri, Gerard O’Neill and Tyler Ajamian all suffered a setback of some kind in the morning session with O’Neill’s appearing to be the most serious. He could be out up to a week.

Jahnke continued to sit out with a hamstring injury, and Connor Oltmans sat out the afternoon practice as he’s still not 100%.

“Camp is starting to take it’s toll now,’’ Milich said of the injuries. “We tried to alleviate some contact in the afternoon session by going only to the uppers. But, the morning was spirited and we had a lot of energy. That’s what you want at this point.”

Former Montgomery standout J.T. Tartacoff suffered what might turn out to be a serious injury while on the practice field for Rutgers. He was taken off on a cart and Milich said his status will be updated Tuesday.

 

SKILLMAN - When Montgomery head coach Zoran Milich gets most excited, it’s usually when his quarterbacks are flinging the ball left and right, receivers are streaking across the field and opposing defenses are shaking their collective heads.

So to hear Milich talk about how excited he was with the run game after the team’s intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday, it was a bit alarming. And though the Cougars’ head man may love to chuck and duck, he is too savvy not to know that without the ground game, his “Air Milich” attack would be reduced to more ducking and less chucking thanks to the opposition pinning its ears back and rushing the passer.

“I really thought we ran the ball well,’’ Milich said. “I thought Billy Eldridge really did a nice job in the backfield for us. The best play of the game for us was probably a shovel pass that everyone blocked well and we would have gone for a big gain.”

Milich and the rest of the Cougars staff scripted 60 plays with six different personnel groupings, with the hopes of getting a feel for what players work well together.

“It’s always the first real evaluation,’’ Milich said of the scrimmage. “It was very vanilla. We want to see who can run, who can block and who can tackle, who is physical and who wants to play football.”

The theme of the scrimmage – at least what Milich seems to take out of it every year – sounds more like the theme from a good Clint Eastwood movie than anything else.

“There’s some good, some bad and some ugly things you do,’’ Milich said. “Overall, we stayed healthy and that’s the most important thing. You also start to move the depth chart around a little bit and you can see kids begin to separate themselves.”

Another theme that Milich has seen in his 2010 camp has been the return to some good old fashioned play from his wide receivers – and we’re not talking about catching the ball.

“Part of the good, was you see guys like DaMario Jones being a big, physical wide receiver,’’ Milich said. “We’re getting back to what we used to be with some physical, blocking receivers.”

But don’t make any mistake, Milich is always looking to see what he can get done through the air.

“(Quarterback) DJ (Ruhlman) did what he had to do,’’ Milich said of his senior signal caller. “He did a really good job.  A lot of this was really about wanting to see what we can do pass blocking and with things in the running game.”

So far, so good.

News & Notes

Milich also noted the play of running back Arie Gutman on offense. “He ran really hard,” Milich said…Jake Lipowski, Chris Schultes and Jeff Jordan are making plays on defense and Milich has really enjoyed what he’s seen from that trio…Milcih expects both Ryan Jahnke and Connor Oltmans to be back and healthy before long, which would provide a considerable shot in the arm on both sides of the football…Even though he is a senior, look for first year player Brian Tait to potentially make an impact at the nose guard position. He’s a big, strong kid who Milich is coaching up and helping to get off the ball quicker.

 

SKILLMAN - As Montgomery football entered into its third day of training camp in 2010, several things changed. Players were in uppers – that is helmets and shoulder pads – for the first time. The warm weather seemed to break, as a more fall-like feeling with a little sprinkle of rain dusted Cougars Stadium.

But, according to head coach Zoran Milich, Day 3 of camp brought a much more focused team, one that is paying attention to details. And when a head coach is already talking about his team doing the little things with only a trio of practices under its belt, it often bodes well for the season.

“We really have a group this year that is very focused,” Milich said. “When I say they’re doing the little things, it’s stuff like making sure when we ask them to get behind the line for sprints, everyone is behind the line. No one’s on it. When we tell them get on the line for a drill, everyone’s on it. And when people aren’t doing what they’re supposed to, other players get on them for it. That’s the kind of team you want to have, and it’s the kind of team we have this year.”

Milich loves to use buzz words and phrases like “certain players are separating themselves” when he talks about practice. But, what really gets Milich’s motor running is when his offense is clicking.

And on Day 3, the focus was on the short passing game, namely screens and shovel passes. He was very happy with the results.

“(Quarterback) D.J. (Ruhlman) was very sharp today, and our receivers were holding on to everything,’’ Milich said, noticeably excited. “I was happy with the way (running back) Billy Eldridge played today. But we just had a really good practice.”

Milich made sure to note how excited assistant coach Win Headley was just to hear the crashing of helmets and shoulder pads around the field.

“You could see him smiling,” Milich said of Headley with a laugh. “He had a whole individual session with the wide receivers, and they didn’t touch a football once. It was all blocking and teaching them to be physical. I like that.”

News & Notes:

Thursday will be a double session for the Cougars out on the MHS turf, and the second practice of the day will be the first time they will practice in full pads…Milich noted how much more comfortable sophomore Josh Reinson looked at quarterback. With three seniors at the QB position (Ruhlman, Connor Oltmans, Kyle Salomone), Reinson is taking steps to put himself in position as the quarterback of the future…Ryan Jahnke is still a few days away from returning to the team from injury.

 

SKILLMAN - As any coaching staff enters a new season, there is excitement about the toys they get to play with on the field. But before the coaches can come up with their ideal scenario of making their toys work together to defeat the evil enemy like they once did when they were kids, they have to see what’s in the toy chest.

In football terms, that means fitness testing. For high school teams, coaches will test to see how quickly a player runs the 40-yard dash, do a series of shuttle runs and measure strength by the number of repetitions that players can do at 185 pounds.

The 2010 version of the Montgomery Cougars tested out very well, according to head coach Zoran Milich, and he and the rest of his staff are eager to get their toys lined up for a showdown.

“It went really well,” Milich said. “The conditioning for our team and in the strength department this was our strongest team top to bottom as far as testing goes. The 2007 team was stronger at the top end. But as a group, this is the best we’ve ever had.”

Chris Schultes broke the school record for the bench press, moving 185 pounds 35 times, besting Chris Garcia’s old record of 28.

“if Garcia was healthy he might have had over 30,’’ Milich said of Garcia’s workout, which was limited because of a back injury. “But Schultes has the record right now. He shattered it.”

There were several players who ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.5 seconds range, as sophomore DaMario Jones ran a 4.51 and Tony Farinaro surprised by running in the 4.5s as well. Will Joels was the quickest of the group at 4.48.

But, Farinaro impressed coaches and was moved to running back for Tuesday’s practices.

“We needed some depth at a couple positions, so we moved guys around,’’ Milich said. “Tony has done a really nice job and he’s been impressive.”

The first two days of practice have been largely about installation. The offense garnered the majority of the attention in the first two days, neither of which were in pads. But, the defense did work on some installation in Tuesday evening’s practice.

“The coaches were happy about that,’’ Milich said. “(Tuesday) was a really good practice. There was a lot of intensity out there. On our first day, Connor Oltmans and Kevin Brune, those guys stood out to me as vocal leaders and guys who were willing to step up and lead us out there.”

Notes:

Several Montgomery football alumni returned to practice on Tuesday to help throw passes to the wide receivers as quarterbacks were doing individual workouts. Josh Hidalgo, Jason Rossi, Dan Aguilar and coaches John Rooney and Tim Bartholomew all helped out.

 

SKILLMAN - Take a look at the Montgomery high school football coaching staff for 2010 and there are a few conspicuous names missing. Tim Bartholomew. Andrew Carfley. Jim Griffin Sr. Jim Griffin Jr.

For any coach, losing your special teams coordinator (Carfley) and defensive coordinator (Griffin, Jr.), it could be traumatic. But as head coach Zoran Milich knows, losing assistant coaches to other opportunities is unfortunate, but it’s also a fact of life. And for Carfley, who is now the head coach at Manville High School, and Griffin, who is now Montgomery’s full-time Strength and Conditioning Coach, moving on was just something they had to do.

“Ive been around football my entire life, so I felt it was time for change,” Griffin said. “Teaching the game, I liked teaching the game more than anything else. I would rather practice and teach the game than play sometimes because I have an appreciation for the game."

For Griffin, it won’t necessarily be the game situations that he misses most.

“Making the kids understand and love the game was always more important to me than Friday nights,” he said.

But leaving the football coaching staff doesn’t mean that Griffin won’t make an impact on the gridiron. He is focusing on making the players bigger and faster with his speed training classes that run all summer and throughout the year through the Montgomery Recreation Department.  His presence in the weight room has also made the Cougars’ Gym the place to be if you’re an athlete on any level.

“I truly believe that, that part of athletics makes the biggest difference,” Griffin said. “I feel like I can make more of an impact on our sports teams doing that, than I would coaching. I think it will give me more time to interact with out athletes than I would get justy coaching football. That’s what I enjoy most – interacting with the kids.”

Carfley was offered the head coaching job at Manville in early April, and jumped at the chance to lead his own group of young men.

“It’s what I have always wanted to do,” Carfley said. “The opportunity to go to a Group I school that I knew a lot about, and that had a lot of talent came up, and it’s a program that was always intriguing to me when I was coaching Group I football (at Bound Brook). I knew it was a program that had the potental to do really good things.

“Since my opportunity to coach at the college level, I’ve known I wanted to be a head football coach. I wanted to work my way through the high school ranks and have the challenge of running the program.”

Carfley also has some things he’s going to miss.

“I am going to miss the linebackers that I coached for the last two years. There’s a lot of talent coming back and we saw that first hand at the seven on sevens – the growth of the Montgomery players since last season. I am going to miss being part of the staff and coaching those kids day to day.”

But Milich has replaced Griffin with Win Headley, and Carfley with Tarig Holman, both coaches who he has a lot of faith in, and both who have some extensive experience. Headley played guard for the Green Bay Packers, and Holman was a cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccanneers.

“After losing quality coaches this past seaosn, we’re very fortunate to get two quality coaches back,” Milich said. “Win, who was with us in 2007, he knows our kids. He brings a toughness to our defense. Tarig Holman, he used to train our kids back in 2006 and really relates to them well. Plus, both of them having an NFL background can only help us down the road.”

For the Cougars, 2010 will not be about the names that are missing from the coaching staff, but those that are there. And with Headley and Holman, things look bright.

 

With the 2010 high school football season upon us, Glock’s Blogs will take another inside look at the Montgomery High School Cougars, and their quest for a Central Jersey title. Check back every day for updates on the 2010 Cougars Training Camp

Schedule:

Monday, August 16 – Training Camp Opens

Saturday, August 21 – Green & Gold Intrasquad Scrimmage

Friday, August 27 – Quad-scrimmage with Cherry Hill East, Warren Hills and Governor Livingston (Cougars Stadium, 10 a.m.)

Tuesday, August 31 – Quad scrimmage with Howell, Moorestown and Lawrence (Cougars Stadium – 10 a.m.)

Friday, September 3 – Game Scrimmage @ Princeton, 10 a.m.

Friday, September 10 – Opening Night vs Union, 7 p.m.

 

Coaching Staff

Offensive Coordinator – Zoran Milich

Defensive Coordinator – Win Headley

Special Teams – Tarig Holman

Assistant Coaches – Vinny Figueroa, Doug Ruhlman, Norm Gebhart, Jon England, Mike Girvan, Ted Smith

 

Returning Players:

Offense:

D.J. Ruhlman (QB) – The Cougars’ QB is in his third year of varsity experience under center, and is poised for a breakout season. His arm strength has improved, and in Milich’s system where timing is everything, his kind of experience is paramount to moving the ball down the field.

Charlie Keri (WR) – Keri is another returning player who Ruhlman is counting on to make the spread offense run. He’s fast and has good hands and needs to replace J.T. Tartacoff as the main weapon down the field.

Perry Weitzner (OL) – Weitzner has worked hard to gain strength with former defensive coordinator Jim Griffin. He’s transformed his physique and will be an impactful player along both lines.

Defense:

Jake Lipowski (DL) – Lipowski worked his way last year from a player coaches hoped would contribute, to one who was making a ton of plays by the end of the year. Working off that momentum he figures to put ample pressure on opposing QBs this season.

Chris Schultes, Jeff Jordan, Kevin Brune (LB) – Working as arguably the strongest unit on the team, the trio of Schultes, Jordan and Brune will make the going tough for opponents on the ground.  Schultes can also cover the backs and tight ends and then puton  a big hit when he gets there.

Connor Oltmans, Josh Reinson (S) – Oltmans is the most intelligent player on the Cougars’ defense and will be a leader whether it be coming up to play the run, or in coverage. Reinson earned a start in the final game of 2009 and looks to make a huge contribution as a sophomore.

Mike Reynolds, Rob Weimer (CB) – Reynolds, in his second season back after taking a year off to concentrate on basketball, will combine with Weimer to be the main cover corners for the Cougars. What they lack in size they make up for with quicks and experience, and should be stalwarts on the outside.

Keep an Eye On…

Tony Farinaro (S); Frank Aguilar (CB); Joe Usifer, Kyle Salomone (LB); Hanson Koota, Chris Bastardi, Brian Tait (DL); Will Davis-Joels ; Da’Mario Jones; Zack Hartnett (WR); Ryan Janke, Billy Eldridge (RB)

 

Kalvin had got himself into this situation and needed a way to get out of it. Battling, Kalvin threw 1-2 fastball, prompting a swing and a miss as the Cougars earned an 11-9 win.

This wasn’t all about the Junior Kalvin’s last inning heroics however. Dane DiMartino was the starter for the Cougars but struggled in his 1 1/3 innings of work, giving up five runs in that span.

 

Coach Pete Mueller turned to his sophomore pitcher, Erik Lanzner. Lanzner gave up just three runs in 4 1/3 innings. Mueller described Lanzer’s scenario as “Being thrown into the fire… he has good stuff and I love seeing my young pitchers being tested. He has a lot of talent. This is a good building block for the future and now he has his first career varsity win.”

 

The offensive end was where the Cougars clearly won this contest and DJ Ruhlman was a major part of the hitting parade. The junior mashed two homeruns and was the main offensive sparkplug alongside senior Mike Friel.

 

After the first inning where DiMartino had given up four runs and Friel (who will be attending the University of Connecticut on a baseball scholarship) had two errors at shortstop, the bats got the Cougars right back into the game tying it at four after one full inning.

 

Lanzner was called in from the bullpen in that second inning giving up one run in that inning, shutting out the Rams in the third and fifth innings and letting up one in the 6^th.

 

 

 

Even though the Cougars seemed to have control over most of the game, Coach Mueller described his team as having the “Hangover effect” coming off Thursday’s loss to Watchung Hills (8-7).

“The bats really came alive,’’ Mueller said, “and that’s where we won.”

 

This victory propelled mostly by the Montgomery bats moves the Cougars up to a record of 7-4 and downgrades Hightstown to a record of 6-3.

 

 

           

 

Cherokee 21, Monty 19 - 4:10 3rd Q

One of two from the line for Cherokee and the lead is back to two. After a Cougar turnover, Cherokee has it back. The team missed a jumper and Loupos pretty much ran over a Cherikee mom in the first row.

 

Christian Benz is back in the game, and Cherokee is back on the line after Testa's third foul.

 

Cherokee 23, Monty 19 - 3:26 3rd Q

Cherokee made both and still are not pressing.

 

Cherokee 23, Monty 21 - 2:05 3rd Q

Loupos pushing in transition led to an easy bucket for McCoy. After a Prevost rebound, Loupos missed a 3-ball and Benz's putback touched every part of the rim before rolling off.

 

Cherokee called timeout as the crowd and the momentum have shifted toward Montgomery.

 

Monty 23, Cherokee 23 - 1:23 3rd Q

McCoy with a huge steal in the half court trap and WE ARE TIED! Cherokee missed a 3-ball and it went out of bounds to Monty!

 

A turnover allowed Cherokee to push transition and they're at the line.

 

Monty 25, Cherokee 25 - 1:08 3rd Q

Cherokee hit both foul shots, but Loupos drove on the team's next possession and went to the line. He nailed both and we remain tied!

 

Monty 27, Cherokee 27 - :47 3rd Q

Loupos an incredible drive to give Monty a lead. But the senior leader tried to draw a foul on the next possession and was called for a block. Cherokee went to the line and nailed both free throws

 

Monty 29, Cherokee 29 - 29.5 3rd Q

Benz took a lofting entry pass and layed it in softly over the front of the rim with his left hand to momentarily give the Cougs the lead. But a soft foul on Testa (his 4th) put Cherokee back on the line where they've been money.

 

Monty 31, Cherokee 31 - End 3rd Q

An incredible turn of events as Reynolds was mugged at half court but no foul was called. Cherokee got an easy layup. After Reynolds drove and had the ball knocked out of bounds with 0.2 on the clock, Benz tipped in an entry pass to beat the third quarter buzzer and tie it up!!! Twenty two points in the quarter for Monty to Cherokee's 11.

 

Monty 34, Cherokee 33 - 7:14 4th Q

McCoy drilled a 3-ball to start the 4th quarter but a Cherokee pull up jumper closed the lead to one. Testa just grabbed a rebound and was fouled to give Monty back the ball with 6:46. Testa missed the free throw and Benz was tied up to give it back to Cherokee.

 

Monty 36, Cherokee 35 - 6:11 4th Q

Cherokee free throws put them up one, but not for long as Loupos drove and hit a layup. The crowd is pretty even both ways Buszka but it's getting loud in here! A mised shot for Cherokee and a McCoy turnover have given it bck to Cherokee. But the Chiefs just turned it over and Mignon has re-entered.

 

Cherokee 41, Monty 36 - 3:35 4th Q

A huge 3-pointer from Cherokee gives them a two-point cushion. Loupos missed a jumper which led to a Benz foul. Cherokee has been taking advantage from the line but just missed one of two. McCoy had his pocket picke on the in-bounds and Cherokee leads by five.

 

Cherokee 42, Monty 36 - 3:40

Cherokee missed one of two, but the foul to get them there was on Loupos. He now has four.

 

Monty forced a turnover and has it back. but they turned it over. McCoy had to foul as Cherokee is trying to play keep away with 2:43 to go.

 

Cherokee 43, Monty 37 - 2:30 4th Q

Cherokee again made one of two to open the lead to seven. Loupos had a 3-pointer roll off, but Benz got a rebound and was fouled on the way up. He knocked down one of two to trim the lead to six.

 

Cheroke 43, Monty 37 - 1:49 4th Q

Cherokee had to use a timeout as Monty was trapping. They look content to play keep away and not shoot.

 

Cheroke 43, Monty 37 - 1:38 4th Q

Keep away is defeinitely the Cherokee plan as the Chiefs have dribbled to a corner and again had to use a timeout.

 

Cherokee 43, Monty 40 - 1 minute

Loupo from about 26-feet away trims it to three, but Testa was called for a soft foul on the other end. He has fouled out and Cherokee will go to the line. A lot depends on what happens at the line here.

 

Cherokee 44, Monty 40 - 1:04

The Chiefs made one of two and Prevost grabbed a rebound and was pushed in the back. He will go to the line to shoot 1-and-1.

 

Cherokee 46, Monty 40 - 54.2

A ridiculous touch foul on McCoy sends Cherokee to the line and the Chief s made both.

 

Cherokee 46, Monty 42 - 43.5

Loupos isn't done yet. He just made a leaning jumper with two men in his face and Grundy called a timeout. The play was originally ruled a 3-pointer but the officials (I think correctly) called it a two.

 

Cherokee 48, Monty 42 - 13.7

Two free throws put Cherokee up six. Montgomery missed a 3-pointer, but got it back on a steal. McCoy missed two free throws and Cherokee is trying to run out the clock. Reynolds has just sent them back to the line with his third foul.

 

Cherokee 49, Monty 42 - Final

There just wasn't enough magic left for Montgomery. After one made free throw Loupos couldn't get the ball and a Reynolds 3-point bid was blocked. A Loupos layup was contested and rolled out and a Cherokee rebound gave the Chiefs a seven point win.

 

It is the end of an INCREDIBLE season for the Cougars who played their hearts out in the second half of this game. The team is walking off the court to a standing ovation from the roughly 200 students who made the trip down south.

 

It's been a great and entertaining season from the blog. I hope you all enjoyed it and we look forward to doing it again next season!

 

Go Cougars!

 

It has seen a population boom – one that hasn’t yet finished exploding – as the residents now send over 1,700 students to its high school, now classified among the biggest in the state.

 

This is also a community that has rallied around its youth. Arrive at Cougar Stadium in early September for high school football, and the crowd totals over 5,000 some nights.

 

And to this point in the infant life of the community’s new jewel of a high school, football has been its most galvanizing event, bringing residents and students of not only scholastic age, but of every demographic.

 

What Montgomery head basketball coach Kris Grundy and his talented group of Cougars have done over the last few weeks, bringing a trio of heart-stopping, state tournament victories to the home crowd, has not just brought home the first sectional title in school history.

 

They have brought the new Montgomery community together like no event, or series of events before it ever has.

 

As the state basketball tournament began, the student body en masse was at a disadvantage, as the senior class – at least most of it – was away in Florida on the school’s annual trip to Disney World.

 

What happened with the likes of de facto leaders like Connor Hayes and J.T. Tartacoff away was nothing short of inspiring. Underclassmen led by Jeff Jordan, Chris Schultes, Connor Oltmans and Perry Weitzner filled the student section. They painted their chests and set the mood for the hundreds of other community members to let loose for the home Cougs.

As the crowd rose to its feet moments before James Loupos rose above two defenders to drain an awe-inspiring 3-pointer against Colts Neck that would send the contest to overtime, you could feel an electricity in the Cougars’ Den unlike anything that’s ever transpired in this new building.

 

But why, how has this team been able to pull together a community which hitherto lived and died with the pigskin?

 

The intimacy of basketball, playing inside, with fans so close to the players has certainly played a part. Being able to see, feel the emotions of these young men makes you want to root for them. The way in which this team of Cougars plays for each other is galvanizing. No hint of selfishness exists.

 

There have been amazing games: a 12-0 run against Rancocas Valley and an end-to-end sprint to run out the clock in that one-point quarterfinal victory; Loupos’ improbable 3-ball and overtime win against Colts Neck.

 

There’s also Grundy, a man who acknowledges he wears his heart on his sleeve, and whose team looks like it would run through a brick wall for him if the situation demanded. He chest bumps, and pounds the floor with his shoes. He screams words of encouragement to his boys and stays up to the wee hours of the morning watching film and game planning.

 

But perhaps most of all it is the intangible aspect of likeability that this team exudes. You see it as Josh Prevost flashes to the post offensively, or skies high for rebounds. It’s noticeable from the humble Matt Mignon whose 3-point shot can be as smooth to watch and as deflating to opponents as any shot can be. Maybe it’s the unheralded Christian Benz, a 6-foot-5 senior who has been as important to winning in the state quarterfinal and semifinal as any player on the roster.

 

A lot of this is also about Loupos.

 

Arguably the best basketball player in Montgomery history, his demeanor, like his ball skills, reek of tranquility. Yet his fire, desire and emotion leak out from time to time. His 3-pointer against Rancocas Valley to put the team up one in the fourth quarter sparked even the humble Loupos to turn to the home Crazies and pound his chest, inciting a near riot.

 

You can’t help but smile.

 

Whatever it is, we know one thing: the new Montgomery community flocked to its fledgling new high school building and came together this past week, truly in one voice, in a way it never has.

 

This is how memories are made. Memories that will last forever. Memories which decades from now people will remember how they crammed into the Cougars’ Den to get a glimpse of something special.

 

This is how traditions are born.