High School Football : ALPHA LEAGUE

Village Christian 23, Montclair Prep 20--After all has been said and done, Village Christian’s season comes down to a phone call. After knocking off the league co-champion at Kennedy High, the Crusaders (8-2, 3-2) are reduced to hoping the Southern Section selects them for the only at-large berth in Division XI.

“With our record we are too good to be kept out of the playoffs,” Village Christian Coach Mike Plaisance said.

In a game in which 3 touchdowns were scored in the last 7 minutes, Village Christian secured the win when Matt Bates intercepted a pass by Keyaan Cook at the Crusader 13-yard-line with 29 seconds to play.

The Crusaders took the lead for good on a 10-yard touchdown run by Craig Hudspeth with 1:50 to play. Jason Jones missed the point-after, however.

Montclair Prep (6-4, 4-1) took a 20-17 lead with 5:09 left on a 4-yard run by Michael Jones, who finished with a game-high 178 yards and 3 touchdowns in 21 carries.

Village Christian took a 17-14 lead on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Drew Martenson to Brian McEvoy with 7 minutes left. Martenson completed 12 of 29 for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns.