The Montague Eagles Cross Country team kicked off the 2026 season with an impressive performance at the Muenster Invitational.
The girls’ team finished 4th overall, led by an outstanding individual performance from Sage Keck, who won the race. Kenzi McEwen and Carley Richardson also had strong showings, finishing 12th and 13th, respectively, out of 243 runners.
On the boys’ side, Jerry Bonilla led the Eagles with a strong performance, finishing in the top 50 out of approximately 200 runners.
The Eagles showed great effort, determination, and team spirit in their first meet of the season and look forward to building on that performance throughout the remainder of the season. The next cross country meet will be Wednesday, September 23, at Alvord.
Meanwhile, the Lady Eagle volleyball teams traveled to Saint Mary’s in Gainesville and came away with wins for both the A and B teams.
The A team played first and earned a convincing 25-10, 25-12 victory. Cayde Harris led the offensive attack with 7 kills, while Finleigh Travis added 3. From the service line, Sage Keck recorded 5 aces, while Courtney Bobbitt and Braizynn Hutto contributed 4 aces apiece. Kynzlea Rios directed the offense with 11 assists.
The B team provided a little more excitement, pulling out a 25-20, 26-24 win. In the second set, trailing 21-24 with Saint Mary’s at game point, Carlee Belcher stepped to the service line and served five straight points to secure the comeback victory. Belcher finished with 100% serving, 4 aces, and also led the offensive attack with 2 kills. Autry Jennings added 7 aces, while Corrie Contreras contributed 4.
The Lady Eagles will compete in the Bowie Tournament on Saturday, beginning at 10:00 a.m. against Bowie, followed by an 11:00 a.m. match against Holliday and then bracket play. They will then return home on Monday to host Christ Academy for an A-team game only at 5:00 PM.
It was a great week to be a Montague Eagle as both the football and volleyball teams turned in dominant performances, while the cheerleaders helped kick off the season with an outstanding first pep rally.
The Montague Junior High Eagles opened their football season in spectacular fashion, securing a 40-7 victory over the Forestburg Longhorns. The tone was set on the very first play when Colt Garrett fielded the opening kickoff and ripped through the defense for an explosive 44-yard return, taking the ball all the way to the Forestburg 2-yard line. Moments later, Cutter Garrett punched it into the end zone for the Eagles’ first touchdown of the season.
Montague’s ground game proved nearly unstoppable throughout the night. Cutter Garrett turned in a monster performance with 185 yards on just 7 carries and 3 touchdowns. Hayden Hennessey kept the chains moving with 84 yards on 5 carries and a touchdown, while Jerry Bonilla added 32 yards on 3 carries and another score. Corban McDowell also had a great night, consistently handling the snapping duties and helping the offense operate smoothly.
The Eagles were just as impressive defensively. Cutter Garrett recorded 10 total tackles, including 8 solo stops and 2 sacks. Wade Hughes made his presence felt with 7 tackles and a sack, then blew the game open with a spectacular 46-yard interception return for a touchdown. Koa Alvarez-Self added 6 tackles and a sack, while Ryker Hankins finished with 5 tackles and a sack. Leroy Hord also recorded 5 tackles, flying all over the field for the Eagle defense.
Montague carried a commanding 34-7 lead into halftime and allowed no additional points in the second half to secure the 40-7 victory.
The Lady Eagles were equally impressive on the volleyball court, traveling to Gold-Burg and bringing home straight-set victories for both the A and B teams.
The A team defeated Gold-Burg 25-12, 25-14, showing tremendous improvement from the teams’ first meeting of the season, when Montague needed three sets to earn the victory.
Cayde Harris was a monster offensively, recording a personal-best 14 kills while hitting .74. Finleigh Travis added 3 kills, while Kynzlea Rios turned in another outstanding all-around performance. Rios delivered 12 aces on 93% serving, coming within just one ace of tying the school record of 13, and also dished out 10 assists to run the Lady Eagle offense.
Defensively, Sage Keck paced the team with 5 digs and had an impressive night in serve receive. Kenzi McEwen also turned in a great passing performance, helping Montague consistently get into its offense. Carley Richardson and Molly Romine were both perfect from the service line, each serving 100% on the night.
The B team followed with a dominating 25-9, 25-14 victory, and serving was the story of the match. Autry Jennings absolutely took over from behind the service line, firing 16 aces while serving 96% and adding 4 assists.
Carlee Belcher recorded 3 aces on 100% serving, while Corrie Contreras added 4 aces and was also perfect at 100%. Belcher and Talynn Lancaster helped lead the offense at the net with 2 kills apiece. It was an outstanding serving night from start to finish for the Lady Eagles.
The excitement actually began before competition when the Montague cheerleaders put on a fabulous first pep rally of the season, recognizing both the football and volleyball teams and filling the gym with Eagle spirit.
Montague athletics will have another busy week ahead. Cross country makes its season debut September 9 at Muenster. Then, on September 10, volleyball and football will both travel to St. Mary’s, with competition scheduled for 4:00 and 6:00 p.m.
With football starting the season 1-0, volleyball continuing to show improvement, and cross country preparing for its first meet, the Eagles are off and running this fall.
The Montague Lady Eagles went 1-1 as they played host to Era Monday night.
The A team fell in an exciting three-set match, 27-25, 22-25, 9-15.
Top Stats:
Serving: Kynzlea Rios – 4 aces; Sage Keck – 2 aces on 92% serving
Digs: Sage Keck – 19
Kills: Cayde Harris – 12; Kynzlea Rios – 6
Assists: Kynzlea Rios – 8; Cayde Harris – 4
The B team followed with a strong two-set victory, 25-18, 25-15.
Top Stats:
Serving: Corrie Contreras – 7 aces; Kinley Evans – 6 aces on 92% serving
The Lady Eagles will travel to Gold-Burg on September 3 for their next matchup.
The Lady Eagles traveled to Christ Academy on Thursday for one match and came home with another victory, winning 25-13, 25-13.
Kynzlea Rios nearly broke her second school record of the season, narrowly missing the single-match ace record with 12 aces while serving 94% from the line. Rios also added 7 assists. Finleigh Travis and Cayde Harris contributed 3 aces apiece.
Defensively, Sage Keck led the Lady Eagles with 5 digs, while Harris powered the offense with a team-high 5 kills.
Montague will return home to host Era on Monday, August 24, for two matches beginning at 5:00 PM.
The Lady Eagles opened their season at home last Thursday, hosting Gold-Burg and earning an exciting three-set victory, 20-25, 25-13, 15-12.
Outstanding stats included Cayde Harris and Kynzlea Rios with 7 aces each and Finleigh Travis with 5 aces. Sage Keck led the defense with 26 digs, while Harris recorded 9 kills. Kynzlea Rios also set a new school record with 20 assists, breaking the previous record of 19 set by Aubree Kleinhans in 2022!
The Montague Blue Team followed with another Lady Eagle victory, winning 25-15, 26-24. Kinley Evans led from the service line with 9 aces, while Carlee Belcher and Braizlynn Hutto each added 6. Belcher recorded 4 kills, and Autry Jennings led with 3 assists.
The Lady Eagles will be back in action on August 20 when they travel to Christ Academy.
