Montgomery Makes Statement

Cougars Upset Somerville to Surpass Last Year’s Win Total

SOMERVILLE, NJ – For the third time in four years, the Montgomery Cougars knocked off the Somerville Pioneers.  However, this latest victory by the Cougars may be the most surprising of them all and one of the biggest upsets of the young 2025 season.  Montgomery, which finished 1-9 in 2024 with the only win coming in a regional crossover victory at West Windsor-Plainsboro, made a statement with a 22-15 victory over the Pioneers at Brooks Field.  

The upset by the Cougars improved their record to 2-1, which surpassed the win total for last season.  Montgomery’s only loss was a three-point defeat at home to Summit the week before.  Although Somerville lost several key players from its 2024 Central Jersey Group 3 Championship, including the likes of Brenden Pacheco, Terrell Mitchell, Josh Rodriguez, and Brady Scheier, it started the new season with a 2-0 mark, including a 28-12 win over Cranford on September 5th.  The Pioneers entered the contest averaging 31 points per contest.

All three of Montgomery’s games this season have been decided by 7 points or less, including an opening night win at Hopewell Valley in overtime.  The Cougars have averaged a little more than 28 points per game this season.  Somerville’s high-powered offense was forced to punt on five occasions during the contest. 

Michael Bellamy (7 total tackles) and Dragomir George (6 points) led the Cougars’ stout defense, while Xavier Harrigan (3 total tackles and an INT) came up with the game’s critical play with a leaping sideline grab for an interception at the Cougars’ 44-yard line with 4:17 to play.

Senior QB Jack Kristjanson spearheaded the Cougars’ offense with his arm and his legs.  Not only did Kristjanson complete 14 of 27 pass attempts for 172 yards and three touchdowns, but he also didn’t throw an interception while rushing 22 times for 107 yards.  Kristjanson accounted for 279 of the Cougars’ 388 yards of total offense.  Senior wideout, Trey McFadden, was a prime target with 9 receptions for 115 yards and 3 TD catches.

McFadden made contributions in all phases of the game by adding a two-point conversion catch, two tackles on defense, and two punts that averaged 53 yards, including a long of 60.  Both punts also landed inside Somerville’s 20-yard line, which helped Montgomery win the field position battle. 

Freshman QB Dylan Boehm completed 10 of 20 passes for 132 yards and a TD for Somerville.  The Pioneers’ offensive backfield of Justin Bowen, James Hampton, and Aidan Vesuvio-Bush combined for 26 carries and 160 yards.  Bowen led the trio with 12 carries for 86 yards while Hampton rushed twice for 43 yards and a TD.

Dushawn Dorsey led Somerville in receiving with 4 catches for 93 yards and a score.  Dorsey’s 35-yard TD reception from Boehm with 9:07 left in the second quarter opened the scoring for a 6-0 lead.  Austin Rynearson connected on a 24-yard field goal for a 15-14 Pioneers’ lead with 8:30 left in the game.  Montgomery responded with an 8-play, 70-yard drive in 3:32 that included several runs from RB Damian Miller and a 14-yard TD pass from Kristjanson to McFadden with 4:58 to play.

With the victory, the Montgomery Cougars begin divisional play in the BCC’s Liberty Silver at 1-0 while improving to 2-1.  Somerville, which won the Liberty Silver crown a year ago, falls to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in divisional play.  Both teams return to action this weekend with Montgomery hosting Montgomery on Friday night and Somerville traveling to Rahway to take on the Indians at Rahway River Park on Saturday.

You can watch this game via Big State Sports on YouTube. See the full schedule of Big Central Conference games on Big State Sports.