Robertson County Connection
SPRINGFIELD WEATHER

Springfield holds off Montgomery Central, hand Indians first loss




Springfield receiver Dayron Johnson breaks a Montgomery Central tackle on his way to the end zoneMIKE BROOKS

Springfield receiver Dayron Johnson breaks a Montgomery Central tackle on his way to the end zoneMIKE BROOKS

SPRINGFIELD — Coming off of a bye week, the Springfield Yellow Jackets entered Friday’s contest against the undefeated Montgomery Central Indians with potential region championship aspirations on the line. 

After jumping out to a 30-14 lead in the second half, Springfield withstood a late rally by Montgomery Central to come out on top 36-34. 

A 35-yard touchdown pass from Montgomery Central’s Ben Dawson to Jaden Flake cut Springfield’s lead to just two with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. 

However, the Yellow Jacket defense stood tall on the 2-point conversion, stopping fullback Drez Sanders a yard short to seal the victory for Springfield. 

“Every football game you go into, you learn something new,” Springfield coach Dustin Wilson said. “We left some possessions out there and got ourselves in some bad positions. Its things like that we’re fortunate to go in and teach on in a good mood instead of a bad mood because Montgomery Central’s a heck of a football team. 

“Defensively, we knew what we had to do. My hats off to the defense and the kids in the middle that fought all night and made quite a few plays. They did a great job.”

The Yellow Jackets were led by quarterback Bryan Hayes, who was responsible for all five of his team’s touchdowns — throwing for four and adding another on the ground. Hayes finished the night with 183 yards passing. 

Springfield wasted no time finding the end zone to begin the game, marching 61 yards on 11 plays, ending in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Hayes to Dayron Johnson.

A blocked punt by Austin Stiltner on the ensuing Central drive led to a 27-yard field goal by David Madrid, increasing Springfield’s lead to 9-0. 

Montgomery Central responded, scoring touchdowns on its following two drives, with 11- and 4-yard runs from Davonta Skelton to take a 14-9 lead.

The Yellow Jackets retook the lead on the ensuing drive, going 62 yards in seven plays. The drive ended with Hayes running for a 12-yard touchdown. 

Springfield added to its lead before the half after Colton Wachter recovered a Montgomery Central fumble. The turnover lead to Hayes throwing his second touchdown of the night, this time on a 13-yard pass to Kevontay White. The play gave the Yellow Jackets a 23-14 halftime lead.  

Johnson caught two more touchdowns passes in the second half, the second on a 50-yard pass that gave Springfield a 36-21 lead heading into the fourth. 

Montgomery Central refused to go away, however, scoring 13 un-answered points in the fourth quarter. Skelton’s third touchdown of the night — a 56-yard run — led to Dawson’s touchdown pass and Springfield’s two-point stop.

With the win, Springfield improves to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in Region 4-5A, putting the Jackets in first place and in the driver’s seat for a region title. Their final three games will all be against region opponents, starting with a trip to Portland (6-2, 3-1) next week. 

“I’m expecting these last three games to all be dog fights, and to get everyone’s best shot,” Wilson said. “That’s what we get and it’s a good thing. You don’t get any off nights and it doesn’t matter anybody’s record. Tonight was a great example of that.” 

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