Moorhead, Miss. - Cameron Montgomery continues to come through when called upon in any role or crucial situation for the nationally ranked Northeast Mississippi Community College football team.
Montgomery accumulated over 100 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns during the Tigers' 34-10 road victory over Mississippi Delta Community College on Thursday, October 13 at Jim Randall Stadium.
The Shannon High School graduate was a key factor for Northeast, which checked in at No. 9 in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll, after the intermission as it pulled away from the Trojans.
Starting quarterback Mason Cunningham connected with a wide-open Montgomery in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown to cap the Tigers' opening possession of the second half and extend the lead to 20-0.
Montgomery lined up behind center himself for the first time in his collegiate career two drives later. He took the direct snap and raced 59 yards untouched to increase Northeast's advantage to 27-0 with 6:22 remaining in the third quarter.
The Tigers reverted to that same formation later in the period and found the results to be just as positive. Montgomery's eight-yard keeper across the goal line pushed Northeast ahead 34-0 and concluded its scoring for the evening.
"Overall, it was a good performance by me and my team," said Montgomery. "I can't even take all of the credit. I've gotta give most of it to my coaches for calling the plays and my o-line for blocking well. We're trying to keep this train going so it just felt good."
A pair of freshman athletes accounted for their inaugural receiving touchdowns since joining the Tigers, who never trailed for a third consecutive game, during the opening half of the competition.
Cunningham utilized the tight end position during Northeast's initial scoring possession. A six-yard touchdown reception by Bo Canton gave the Tigers (6-1, 3-1) a 6-0 lead midway through the first.
Running back Dorian Banks showcased his dexterity in the second period. His off-balanced eight-yard touchdown reception ended a 12-play, 83-yard drive and boosted Northeast to a 13-0 advantage at the break.
Head coach Greg Davis "told us to find our own spark and own intensity and that's what we did," Banks said. "I had a whole bunch of energy. This feels like normal. I love it."
The Tigers have held their opponents scoreless for nine of the last 12 quarters dating back to the homecoming victory against Coahoma Community College. Northeast shut out Mississippi Delta until the 10:17 mark of the fourth.
The Trojans (1-6, 0-4) got onto the scoreboard with a 28-yard field goal by Steven Collins and on a 25-yard pass from Guy Myers to LaDaveon Smith during the final seconds of the contest.
Cunningham was solid once again for the Tigers with a career-high 73.3 completion percentage and only eight misthrows in the entire matchup. He amassed 235 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
L.J. Hawkins recorded his fourth 100-yard receiving performance of the campaign. Montgomery followed him with 69 yards on five catches with an additional 56 yards on the ground as well.
Banks tallied game-highs of 14 carries and 80 yards while Demarque Brown also contributed 50 rushing yards. Northeast notched a season-best 463 yards with a balanced offense that featured 13 running and 12 passing first downs.
"We got a lot of guys a lot of reps that needed it," said Davis. "We did everything we needed to do going into this game. We've just got to keep grinding over these next few weeks."
The Tigers compiled a season-high 12 tackles for loss on the defensive side of the pigskin. Lineman Blake McClain topped that effort with 3.5 stops in the backfield, which included a pair of sacks.
Brenden Williams paced Northeast with a career-best 15 takedowns, which was broken down to six solos and nine assisted stops, with three of them for loss. It was his third double-digit tackling outing of the year.
"I watched the running backs and paid attention to my keys," Williams said. "We really put the work in during the summer and beginning of the fall to put up numbers like this. I give all the credit to the coaching staff for believing in us."
Johnathon Edwards grabbed his second interception of the campaign early in the fourth quarter. The Tigers have now forced at least one turnover during each of their seven games so far.
The Tigers were successful in moving the chains during 11 of its 15 third down opportunities while Mississippi Delta was limited to a 27 percent conversion rate in the same scenario. Northeast outgained the Trojans by nearly 150 yards.
Northeast welcomes 15th-ranked Holmes Community College for its final home contest of the regular season on Thursday, October 20. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.