By Rob Tate
SportCast Media
The Dayton Broncos couldn’t have asked for a better lead-in to the bye week and that warranted a respite before the long haul of District 8-5A Division II.
It’ll be a bit of a long haul Friday night, as the Broncos (2-1) take the 82-mile trek to Montgomery for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Bears (3-0) to get league play going.
It’ll be the Broncos’ third consecutive road game after going 1-1 the previous two bus trips prior to the bye last week. Montgomery, meanwhile, also had its bye last week, and its perfect start to the season is on the line. The Bears are much-improved after a 2-8 campaign in 2023.
For Dayton head coach Jerry Prieto, his first season in charge of the Broncos, it’s been a largely positive start to the year.
“It’s been a learning process for all of us,” Prieto said this week. “Kids, coaches and everyone included. I definitely think we’re trending in the right direction. But we’ve had some highs and lows.”
Like those old roller coaster rides at Astroworld, there’s been some ups and downs early on.
It started up with the program’s first win over rival Crosby in 12 years in the season-opener, but quickly dropped down when Kingwood Park handed the Broncos a 30-10 loss a week later.
Two Fridays ago at Porter, Dayton redeemed itself and put one in the win bucket on an impressive 42-20 finish.
It was a much better week of practice heading into the matchup with the Spartans, a team the Broncos also ended another long losing streak against at six games.
“I think our kids and coaches responded well after that (Kingwood Park game),” Prieto said. “We picked it up on Saturday, stopped feeling sorry for ourselves real quick and got back to work that next Monday and came away with a win in Week 3 on all our levels.”
The expectation was to win and Dayton did just that.
“We expected to go out there and win Week 3,” Prieto said. “It really wasn’t something that surprised us. I think our kids are starting to understand that they can be successful if they start to put the work in what needs to be done during the week.”
For the fourth straight game, it’s another familiar foe for the Broncos.
Dayton and Montgomery have played every year in non-district play since 2020. Dayton won 39-34 last year and 35-28 in 2022. Both entertaining contests.
Now that it’s a district opponent, the stakes are much higher against the resurgent Bears.
Under the direction of head coach Grant Cooper, Montgomery has opened the year with wins over Kingwood Park (28-26), Caney Creek (58-33) and Elgin (67-26).
“They are a much-improved football team from last year,” Prieto said. “They’re a really good football team and really explosive offensively.”
Can much be taken from the recent meetings? It depends.
As a coach, Prieto wasn’t around for those recent games. But he does have experience coaching against the Bears.
“I coached against them during the COVID year in Week 3,” Prieto said. “But looking at them from last year to this year, it’s night and day. They’re a totally different team than what they were.”
Montgomery has a veteran presence at quarterback in Reggie Williams, a senior dual-threat athlete with 308 passing yards, 197 rushing yards and six total touchdowns (four rushing). Williams has started since his freshman year.
“Their quarterback really takes the charge, but they have three really, really good running backs,” Prieto said. “They’ve got some receivers where you can put the ball in space and they can do some things and make some plays.”
Montgomery has 17 rushing touchdowns, led by Damion Taylor with five on 276 rushing yards.
“They play really, really hard,” Prieto said. “They’re a disciplined team on both sides of the ball and special teams. They have a good kicker and punter and they’re really solid all the way around. They are well-coached and play really, really hard.”
Dayton senior Jaleel Kendrick has been coming into his own as well. The running back had a season-high 154 rushing yards and two scores in that win over Porter.
“Jaleel has been a great senior and he’s really stepped up in any way we’ve asked him,” Prieto said. “He’s playing a lot more both ways early on, but he’s been a lot more focused on running back lately.
Also a linebacker, Kendrick’s offensive numbers this year – including 358 all-purpose yards – are career highs.
“He’s just a tough kid,” Prieto added. “Hard to bring down. It usually takes a couple (kids) and he’s been learning the offense and getting more comfortable in the offense. He’s been playing more faster, aggressive and more physical.”
Sophomore quarterback Jerry Prieto Jr is coming into his own as well. He’s passed for 490 yards, rushed for 104 and totaled six touchdowns (three passing, three rushing).
“He’s had some ups and downs, but I think he’s doing well and progressing,” Coach Prieto said. “He had a really good Week 3 game. He made some really good reads and decisions. It helped us a little bit.”
Friday night marks the biggest stretch of the year for the Broncos, who are in the hunt for their second playoff appearance in three years.
Cohesiveness is the name of the game.
“Everybody is getting to know each other and getting a little bit more comfortable with each other,” Prieto said.
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