HS Football: Montgomery vs Oak Ridge preview

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Oak Ridge War Eagles enter the final week of the non-district schedule with a 3-0 record. Going back to last season, the War Eagles have won four straight and will attempt to make it five when they host the Montgomery Bears (1-2) at Woodforest Stadium on Thursday night.

Thursday’s game will be the third meeting in five seasons between Oak Ridge and Montgomery. The War Eagles and Bears split the first two matchups with Montgomery winning 28-21 in 2016 and The Ridge winning 24-21 in 2017.

Oak Ridge is coming off another impressive showing, especially on defense in their 28-17 win over Humble. The Oak Ridge defense is holding teams to about 15 points a game so far this year. Forcing turnovers continues to be a large part of their success. Last week, the secondary picked off Humble twice in the win. Offensively, The Ridge was without their star running back Alton McCaskill due to injury, so Jahron Jonas stepped up to fill the role, rushing for over 100 yards and a TD. The offense averages about 24 points a game, so while they aren’t necessarily lighting up scoreboards, they are protecting the football and controlling the game each week.

Montgomery is coming off a 55-52 shootout loss to Crosby, but their other two games weren’t as explosive, so another result like that on Friday is unlikely. In their last game, Montgomery QB Brock Bolfing threw for 534 yards. His main target, Tre Harden, went for 382 yards and two TDs on nine catches, so the Bears may look to test the Oak Ridge secondary to try to keep that connection going.

Recent matchups between these two teams have been close, and that could always be the case this week. However, Oak Ridge seems locked in on finishing the non-district schedule without a blemish and should control this game from start to finish. Prediction: Oak Ridge 27, Montgomery 14

Thursday’s game will be a Woodlands Online Livestream sponsored by Team Sinisi Real Estate and The Woodlands Dental Group. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 P.M.