Harpeth gets crushed by Montgomery Central

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Montgomery Central defeated Harpeth 42-12 in a battle of the Indians on Friday night for Harpeth’s homecoming.

Harpeth (1-4) looked to get a winning streak going against Montgomery Central. Montgomery Central (4-1) entered the game after a win over Creek Wood in Week 5.

Montgomery Central jumped out to a 28-0 first-quarter lead and took a 35-6 lead into halftime. After three quarters it was 42-6 in favor of Montgomery Central. Harpeth was able to get a late score to give the game its final score.

Montgomery Central 240-pound running back Lakendriez Sanders had 175 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He broke tackles and ran over defenders throughout the game.

Montgomery Central quarterback Logan Sykes was effective running the offense all night. And he wasn’t just a game manager, as he accounted for a rushing touchdown of his own.

Montgomery Central’s Michael Payton also was effective as he displayed his athleticism and speed in the open field. He added a touchdown on the ground from the running back position, as well as a 30-yard pick six in the second quarter while at defensive back.

After the win, Montgomery Central head coach Jeff Tomlinson gave a breakdown of his team’s performance.

“We played really good football. And once we got a little bit of a lead, I was a little disappointed in how we let down and the way we played,” Tomlinson said. “We let the foot off the gas a little bit and started playing a little sloppy. And I wasn’t really happy with that.”

Harpeth tried to open its offense early in the game by getting the ball to Luke Gossett. As always, his athleticism was on display as he had good runs of double-digit yards from the quarterback, and running back positions. But the drives died as Montgomery Central’s defensive line stopped the Harpeth momentum most of the night with penetration, which disrupted the plays before Harpeth could score.

“Montgomery Central controlled the game for the most part,” said Harpeth head coach Doug Loope shared. “We had a couple of plays in the second half to make it interesting, but the score was lopsided.”

Harpeth scored two touchdowns, one by quarterback Thomas Sloan on a goal line run late in the second quarter. With 10 seconds left in the game, Sloan hit Gossett on a 19-yard pass for a second touchdown.

Montgomery Central will play at Greenbrier on Friday, while Harpeth will travel to Sycamore.