MONTESANO–With all due respect to Pepperidge Farms, Montesano remembers.

Three seasons ago while many of its current crop of seniors were mere freshmen, the Montesano Bulldogs were crestfallen after a bitter 28-23 defeat to the Tenino Beavers.

While the Bulldogs kneeled in their post-game huddle, they watched as Beavers players and students danced and cheered on the big maroon M at midfield at Montesano High School.

That stuck with the Bulldogs, whom despite outscoring Tenino 73-13 in two wins over the past two seasons, neither of those victories were on Monte’s home turf.

Friday was the Bulldogs’ chance to let the Beavers know they didn’t forget 2022’s disrespect.

In a battle of two unbeaten teams with plenty of league implications on the line, a highly-motivated Montesano squad wrecked Tenino 49-0.

“Three years back, they beat us here at homecoming. It was an awesome feeling to get that back,” said Montesano quarterback Tyson Perry, who passed for four touchdowns in the win. “(The loss in 2022) was a horrible feeling. So we used that and it worked out well for us.”

“Our kids took some things personal,” Montesano head coach Terry Jensen said. “I know it’s a different (Tenino) coaching staff now, but our kids remembered it. … They were pretty motivated. It was some ammunition for our kids.”

Charged up by the proverbial bulletin-board material, the Bulldogs (5-0 overall, 1-0 1A Evergreen) opened the game by thwarting a promising Beavers’ opening drive when a harem of Bulldogs tacklers forced a Michael Lanning fumble that was recovered by Monte defensive end Mason Fry.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano defensive end Mason Fry (8) and his teammates are ecstatic after Fry recovered a fumble in the first quarter of a 49-0 drubbing of Tenino on Friday in Montesano.

Bulldogs senior quarterback Tyson Perry then lobbed a pass to running back Terek Gunter on a go-route up the seam for a 31-yard touchdown and the game’s first score.

In an effort to eat up clock and prevent Montesano’s quick-strike offense from taking the field, Tenino (4-1, 0-1) continued to run the ball with some effectiveness on its next drive, but the possession stalled out near midfield and the Beavers were forced to punt.

On the very next play, Perry found Fry for another touchdown on a go-route by a slot receiver, this time for 53 yards and a 14-0 lead with 20 seconds left in the first quarter.

“They had that one high safety and with our two seams going vertical, one guy is always going to be uncovered,” Perry said. “We talked about it during practice this week and decided if it’s open the first couple of plays, test it out and see what happens. It worked out for us. … They were wide open. I just had to settle down, set my feet and make a pass.”

Tenino’s third drive once again appeared fruitful as the Beavers drove to the Bulldogs 38-yard line on 11 plays, but were once again forced to punt.

A bad snap over the punter’s head gave Monte great field position at the Tenino 39-yard line. Five plays later, Monte went up three scores when Gunter ran it in from four yards for a 21-0 lead.

“Once we got through the first drive, we settled down and (Tenino) really struggled to stop us tonight,” Jensen said. “You get things rolling downhill sometimes and you can’t stop that momentum.”

Monte’s defense – which got better as the first half wore on – forced a three-and-out to force another punt.

The Bulldogs offense was humming along when a play near the Beavers sideline resulted in the injury to one of the chain crew, causing a lengthy delay as paramedics were brought out to tend to the injured party.

When play resumed, Tenino’s defense caught its breath and had Monte in a precarious position with a 4th-and-long at the Beavers 32-yard line.

Rather than go for a 49-yard field goal from standout kicker Chris Tobar – who was nursing an ingrown toenail – Jensen decided to roll the dice.

Perry let go a deep pass to the corner of the end zone, where star senior receiver Toren Crites leaped to haul in the pass ahead of Tenino defensive back Marvin Phillips for a backbreaking 32-yard touchdown and a 28-0 lead entering the half.

“We were pretty disapointed in some of the (penalty) calls that got us pushed back and we just decided to go for it,” Jensen said. “Toren made a great catch on that ball and Perry put it right where it could be.”

After homecoming halftime activities ended, Montesano put the game away on the opening drive of the third quarter. The Bulldogs drove 65 yards in just seven plays, taking a 35-0 lead when senior running back Zach Timmons scored on a 1-yard plunge.

After Tenino was held to another three-and-out by the Bulldogs defense, Monte’s offense scored when Perry hit receiver Kole Kjesbu with a short pass in the flat. The senior raced 12 yards to the pylon for the touchdown that gave Monte a running clock the for the final 18 minutes of game time.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano receiver Kole Kjesbu (24) races away from Tenino’s Austin Johnson for a touchdown during the Bulldogs’ 49-0 win on Friday at in Montesano.

With the Monte reserves in the game, freshman Falen Verville scored his first varsity touchdown when he ran it in from 17 yards with 9:23 left in the game.

Tobar’s seventh extra-point kick of the night completed the scoring at 49-0, cementing a dominant win over a previously undefeated team.

“Right when we got the ball on offense, that turned the momentum around,” said Perry, crediting his offensive line with the team’s success. “They’ve just been working their butts off man. They put the work in at practice and it shows in game. They’ve been sealing those blocks for us, got the run game going, helped with the pass game as well and that just helped with our success so much.”

The three-year starting quarterback completed 11 of 15 passes for 215 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

Four different Bulldogs receivers caught at least two passes in the game, led by Crites with three catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.

The Bulldogs defense held a Tenino team that had been averaging 31.5 points per game scoreless, recovering 1-of-3 fumbles with Timmons recording an interception from his cornerback position in the second half.

Montesano amassed 376 yards of total offense while holding the Beavers to 116 total yards, 72 of those on the ground, and eight first downs.

“I thought we played outstanding tonight in every part of the game,” Jensen said. “We play with our pads. We talk with our pads.”

One area of concern this season for Montesano has been penalties and that didn’t change on Friday. Montesano was penalized 13 times for 115 yards.

The Bulldogs play at Hoquiam at 7 p.m. on Friday at Olympic Stadium.

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RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano head coach Terry Jensen (right) shakes hands with referee Terry Simmons during a halftime ceremony honoring Simmons’ 50-plus year career on Friday at Montesano High School.

Bulldogs honor longtime referee

Before the start of the second half at Friday’s homecoming game, Montesano honored head referee Terry Simmons, who is in his final season of calling games on the field.

Simmons was a bit teary-eyed as he shook hands with Montesano head coach Terry Jensen and athletic director Pat Pace as the announcement was made, and he received applause throughout both the Montesano and Tenino fans, players and coaches in attendance.

Simmons’ first game as a referee was in 1972 and he has reffed over 2,000 games in 53 years, including more than 50 state quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games.

As a sign of his integrity, when this reporter jokingly asked one of the linesman if the ceremony will put Monte in Simmons’ good graces, helping limit the penalty calls, he replied, “Not with Terry it won’t. He’ll still throw the flag.”

Tenino 0 0 0 0 – 0

Montesano 14 14 14 7 – 49

Scoring

First quarter

Montesano – Gunter 31 pass from Perry (Tobar kick), 4:30

M – Fry 41 pass from Perry (Tobar kick), 0:20

Second quarter

M – Gunter 4 run (Tobar kick), 5:26

M – Crites 32 pass from Perry (Tobar kick), 1:08

Third quarter

M – Timmons 1 run (Tobar kick), 9:36

M – Kjesbu 12 pass from Perry (Tobar kick), 6:30

Fourth quarter

M – Verville 17 run (Tobar kick), 9:23

Passing: T – Metcalf 4-7-1-44, Morey 0-1-0-0. M – Perry 11-15-0-211

Rushing: T – Rogers 9-38, Metcalf 3-25, Lanning 11-20, Johnson 1-5, Espinoza 6-(-16). M – Verville 2-33, Timmons 6-24, Perry 3-21, Gunter 3-19, Mann 1-17, Smith 1-14, Eaton 1-14, Crites 1-9, Wilson 2-5, Causey 1-4, Ames 1-2, Erickson 2-(-1).

Receiving: T – Johnson 1-24, Minerich 1-8, Ontiveros 1-6, Espinoza 1-6. M – Crites 3-62, Gunter 3-58, Kjesbu 3-48, Fry 2-47.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano wide receiver Toren Crites (12) catches a 32-yard pass for a touchdown while defended by Tenino’s Marvin Phillips during the Bulldogs’ 49-0 win on Friday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.