MONTAGUE — Montague’s West Michigan conference game against Oakridge on Monday ended badly for everyone involved due to a fight between the teams with 1:39 to go.
The Eagles won the game, 2-0, but that was not on either side’s mind after the fracas, which began when an Eagle retaliated to an overly aggressive tackle from Montague’s Lucas Husband by rushing it for a literal tackle. . Officials, coaches and players quickly scrambled to limit any further showdowns, and in this they were largely successful, as no other major confrontations took place. Both teams were eventually sent to their benches as officials determined the appropriate penalty.
Both players who were originally involved received red cards and Oakridge were awarded a penalty, which Arturo Romero buried to provide the game-clinching goal.
The first half was scoreless, but both teams had chances to score which were denied. The Eagles came on the board just over nine minutes into the game when Tyler Lewis ran out of traffic with the ball after a corner kick and managed to find the net.
Minutes later, the Wildcats’ Chris Aebig narrowly missed the tie when his well-placed shot drifted just left of the far post. Montague keeper Eli Bunton made a few good saves in the second half to keep his team within a goal before dust broke things up.
Wildcats coach Brandon Mahoney declined to comment after the game.
