Summit wins second close game in a row to open the season at Montgomery

On Friday night in Montgomery, the 1-0 Summit Hilltoppers faced off against the 1-0 Montgomery Cougars. It was a hard-fought game but in the end it was the Hilltoppers winning 31 to 28. 
After a quick three and out Summit looked to strike on defense. On Montgomery's first play on offense senior cornerback Connor Gawronski came up with an interception to give Summit the ball back.
However, later Montgomery kicked off the scoring with a long touchdown drive to lead 7-0. After this Summit clawed their way back to score a touchdown by Alex Schwark on a 37-yard run.  
After this Montgomery quickly answered with a touchdown of their own making the score 14-7 ending the first quarter. 
At the start of the second quarter senior running back Daniel Licciardi brought Summit near the red zone on a pass from Alex Schwark. Then it was Schwark punching in the touchdown to tie the game. 
The Summit defense forced Montgomery to punt after a quick series. On offense Summit quickly got into the red zone thanks to a catch from senior wide receiver Kieran Zulauf. It was once again Alex Schwark scoring the touchdown to make the score 21-14 Summit.
 After Montgomery couldn't come up with a fourth down conversion thanks to cornerback Connor Gawornski, Summit had the ball with great field position. It was again Alex Schwark finding the hole for a touchdown and making the score 28-14. 
To start the second half Montgomery came out rolling, driving down the field to score a quick touchdown to cut the Summit lead to 28-21
 Following this Summit drove down the field and ended up kicking a field goal from junior Jackson Marx to extend the score to 31-21
Montgomery didn't give up though they kept fighting and found themselves down by three with a little time left on the clock and a fourth-down situation. The Summit defense however was able to force the stop with a nice play from senior safety Jake Reimold who also led the team with 11 tackles.
 Summit now comes home for their home opener against Hillside. 
-Cam Aronson, Summit HS Class of 2028