By Larry Kelley
Special to the Times
There’s no reason for Montville football coach Tanner Grove and the rest of the Indians to deny it.
The Indians are thinking CIAC football playoffs.
After an impressive 49-20 blowout of Stonington and an obligatory walkthrough against undermanned Tourtellotte, Montville stood 8-0 with three games remaining, including Clash-of-the-Titans-like tilts at undefeated New London Nov. 7 and at rival St. Bernard/Norwich Tech with the ECC Small title on Thanksgiving eve.
“We want to play football after Thanksgiving,” Grove said after Montville gained nearly 20 yards a play for 49 points in 15 minutes of possession against Stonington Oct. 24. “We have a pretty young team, but we’ve set ourselves up with some opportunities to land a playoff spot.”
Montville answered some critics who said it played a weak early schedule by routing two winning programs in Griswold and Stonington. After six games, Montville was No. 3 in the Class SS power ratings behind New London and Seymour. Judging by schedules, Montville would likely make one of the four slots if it beats East Lyme and 5-1 St. Bernard, which was No. 8 in SS but would receive big points if it beat Ledyard and Montville in its stretch run.
Not a bad position for Montville, which was thought to be a year away from contention because of its junior- and sophomore-dominated team.
“We realize we have a lot of players who will be back, and we do occasionally think about the special things we should do in the future,” Indian sophomore running back-defensive lineman Tyler Girard-Floyd said. “But we don’t want to think about next year to get beat this year. The team is really jacked up now because nobody thought we’d do this, this year.”
Girard-Floyd is on pace to earn area Player of the Year as well as All-State honors. His 16-carry, 237-yard, 4-touchdown effort against Stonington gave him more than 1,400 yards and 19 TDs after six games. Considering New London’s Jordan Reed may miss games with a foot injury, if Girard-Floyd finishes strong, he could be the area’s most outstanding player as a sophomore—a previously unthinkable feat in football.
If Girard-Floyd’s power and speed—he had a 78-yard run against the Bears—isn’t enough, he added three sacks on successive plays to stall a Stonington potential scoring drive with the Bears trying to cut the gap to a one-score game.
He played like LT—Ladanian Tomlinson-in his prime on offense and Lawrence Taylor on defense.
“I don’t like playing Stonington’s Double Wing, but I like playing defense and getting after the passer,” Girard-Floyd said.
Montville’s overall defense, however, gives Grove an area of concern. Stonington gained 400 yards on 66 plays. Penalties stopped the Bears as much as Montville. Only the Indians’ dominance on special teams—Jesse Sutherland returned a kickoff 86 yards for a TD—and overwhelming rushing out of the spread set (23 rushes for 343 yards) covered up the defensive lapses.
“We made too many mental mistakes, so we’ll have to bring the kids into the film room and fix things,” Grove said. “On three occasions, their end was wide open. We played 2 1/2 quarters of poor defensive football.”
Grove should have the team’s attention during practice, although you wouldn’t blame the players for gloating about what has transpired. Montville’s production, including 23 rushes for 343 yards, has been prolific, and it’s not all Girard-Floyd. Backup sophomore Skyler McNair ran 49 yards for a TD, and blocking-back Dave MacCracken made the most of his rare carries for a 37-yard TD. Junior quarterback P.J. Morales has been dangerous all season as well, keeping defenses honest with scoring strikes to Sutherland, a junior, and Shawn Clang.
“The team is responding, and Tyler is a very big factor both offensively and defensively,” Grove said. “One of the things I’m most proud of him for is that he plays with such poise when he makes plays on both sides of the ball. What more can you say about him other than he’s a special young man.”