FB: North Montgomery edges Western Boone

He practices kicking 40-yard field goals every day.

So
booting a 34-yard field goal into a swirling east wind with North
Montgomery's Indiana High School Athletic Association football team's
postseason on the line was no problem for this senior placekicker.

McClaine's
field goal sailed over the bottom right crossbar with 9.9 seconds left,
lifting North Montgomery to a come-from-behind 31-28 first-round IHSAA
Sectional 21 victory over Sagamore Athletic Conference rival Western
Boone.

"I just had to judge the wind. I really wasn't nervous
at all," said McClaine, who helped the Chargers defeat the Stars for
the second time this season. They won 41-14 back on Sept 25. "It feels
good to help this team out. None of my field goals have ever played a
role in games."

North Montgomery (7-3) advances to play Class 3A
No. Brebeuf Jesuit (8-2) in next weekend's IHSAA Sectional 21 semifinal
game. Brebeuf Jesuit defeated Danville 49-7 in another Friday night
first-round game.

Behind sophomore running back Clay Birdsong
and his workhorse effort, the Chargers rode - and rallied - to a huge
first-round sectional win, ending their two-game losing streak. They
recovered from a 14-point first-half deficit and rallied from a
seven-point deficit with just under nine minutes to play in the fourth
quarter.

Birdsong had a career-high 39 carries and rushed for
a season- and career-high 274 yards. He scored two long touchdowns - on
a 41-yard dash in the first quarter and a 22-yard bulldozing effort in
the fourth.

But even more impressively, he didn't seem to
tire. He had 102 yards on 14 carries in the first half and another 172
yards on 25 carries in the second half.

As Birdsong walked out
of the locker room afterward, he looked a little gimpy. But that was
only because his calves had started to cramp up from all that running.

"I'm
just competitive and I wanted to go on in sectionals," Birdsong said.
"The offensive line did a good job blocking for me, too. They opened up
some big holes."

North Montgomery looked to be in a big hole itself throughout the entire first quarter and nearly all of the first half.

North
Montgomery had an abysmal first half on defense. The Chargers couldn't
contain Stars' junior quarterback/running back Jared Knox, who rushed
all over them.

He rushed for 102 yards in the first quarter and
totaled 122 by the end of the first half, threw for 100 yards and
scored three touchdowns (all off rushing plays).

With less
than one second remaining in the half, Western Boone led 21-7 and it
looked like they'd go to the locker room with a double-digit lead and
all the momentum.

But with three tenths of a second, North Montgomery still had one more play. And the Chargers rallied back.

Junior
quarterback Clayton Dale hit speedster senior wide receiver Ricky
Langford for a 60-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline, cutting
the lead to 20-14 right at halftime.

"That [touchdown] gave us
a big momentum boost," Birdsong said. "We started rolling after it
there. The TD was the game, I think."

North Montgomery tied the
game at 21-21 late in the third quarter on Dale's second touchdown
pass, a two-yard throw to senior tight end Colin Maltsberger.

Western
Boone capitalized off sophomore Colton Bane's fumbled punt return
inside the North Montgomery 10-yard-line to take the lead in the fourth
quarter.

They needed two plays before scoring on sophomore quarterback Tyler Aguirre's 12-yard run to take a 28-21 lead with 8:47 left.

Once again, North Montgomery rallied back.

The
Chargers rode Birdsong hard on their next drive, giving the ball to him
seven times out of eight plays and he scored on that 22-yard touchdown
to tie the game.

Then, after being beaten up nearly all game,
their defense responded. North Montgomery forced Jared Knox to fumble
and recovered it at the 39-yard line.

North Montgomery drove
all the way to the Western Boone 4-yard-line, then backed itself up
with a sack and a false start penalty before McClaine hit the kick.