(From the 2005 yearbook) The 2004 season started off with a grueling three-hour trip to Mainland, and the team was excited, but overall, the football

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1 2004 (From the 2005 yearbook) The 2004 season started off with a grueling three-hour trip to Mainland, and the team was excited, but overall, the football season did not come out as expected. At the beginning of the season, the team held the 16 th ranking in the state. With the first two games being lost in the last moments, the season went downhill. There was a good ending to the season as the Mounties beat the Bloomfield Bengals on Thanksgiving Day. Injuries and other dramas brought the season down to a level of play that was unexpected for the Mounties. Through all the hard times, the team stuck together and did what they had to do to get back on track. Even though they didn t make the playoffs, they had a winning season. (How the season unfolded, derived from newspaper articles.) As Woodman Field was under reconstruction, for the first time since l985, the Mounties were forced to play all games on the road. With so many returning juniors, the Mounties were optimistic for the new season. Opening at Mainland High School, a 3-hour bus ride south on the GSP, Montclair seemed to have the better of the play, but a penalty called back a TD. The Blue and White found themselves 2 touchdowns behind and rallied valiantly in the fourth quarter and had a chance to win on a field goal that fell short. This most frustrating game ended in a loss. David Caldwell in a brilliant display of effort and talent scored twice and Marc Banks returned a Mainland pass for a TD. Next up, the Knights of Paterson Kennedy with a new coach and an improved team presented a significant challenge. In a game of questionable calls and turnovers, the Mounties again saw frustration and not victory. The Knights scored first on an interception in the second quarter and again in the third quarter after a questionable pass interference call that made the score Montclair rallied, but come up short in a 12-7 defeat with David Caldwell scoring the lone touchdown on the same field that MHS collected their first victory, 27-0 over the Eastside Ghosts the following Saturday. The defense and offense clicked and David Caldwell led the way with 3 TDs and the very promising junior, Julian Cruz, scored one TD on an 80 yd. run. Bergen Catholic was our next foe and the Crusaders already had 2 losses. This game was a mismatch from the start as the Mounties lost A Friday night game at Clifton always brings a crowd with the anticipation of a great half-time show by the Mustang band and a hotly contested affair on the field. Montclair displayed their two-pronged rushing game with Cruz and Caldwell as David scored 4 TDs and Cruz scored 2. The enthusiasm on the field and in the Mountie stands was electric and the excitement of the team after the game was remarkable. Former greats, Dan Callahan and Alex Payne of the 2001 Mounties, along with other former players, were on hand to support their team. At Don Bosco, again the Mounties were overmatched by a superior team in 325

2 a 41-6 defeat. With a 2-4 record the Blue and White regrouped in victories in the next 2 weeks against overmatched opponents of Passaic and Barringer. In the former game, David Caldwell rushed for more than 300 yds.and 5 TDs as the Blue and White overwhelmed Passaic on its Homecoming Day In game #8 Montclair dominated hapless Barringer, 61-8, but it did not come without a cost. David Caldwell was injured, as was Alex Ciliota-Young, both of whom will miss the consolation game with Vernon. Unlike the previous year s weather, the Vernon consolation game was played on a cold field speckled with snow from the previous night. Besides missing Caldwell and Ciliota-Young, The Mounties were missing its star flanker, Joe Lennon, who came down with a stomach virus. After three quarters of lackluster play, Montclair trailed 17-0 and looked flat. Then in the fourth quarter with Kris Green leading the way on offense and a stingy defense, the Mounties started a comeback. Senior flanker Akil Ahmed caught a 60 yard TD pass and Cruz had 2 scores to bring the Blue and White within as time ran out. Thinking of the Mainland, Kennedy, and Vernon games MHS could easily have had a 7-2 record instead of 4-5 after 9 games. Montclair needed a victory against Bloomfield on Thanksgiving Day to avoid a second straight losing season. With neighborly kindness our Bloomfield game was played on the beautiful MKA Field on the Upper Campus astride Bloomfield Avenue. Green picked up where he left off at the Vernon game and threw 3 TDs to Dorch, Ahmed, and Cruz. The final score was 21-3 Montclair. The Mounties ended the 2004 season at 5-5 and on a good note looking ahead to On the All-County Team on offense David Caldwell made first team, Joe Lennon and Kris Green made second team and Derrick Dorch third team. First team All-County defense went to linebacker Steven Branch. 326

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