BLANCHARD — The Charlie Helmer to Jemikal Papendick combination was profitable for the Montabella Mustangs in Friday’s 34-32 win over Evart to open the season.
Helmer threw for three touchdowns to Papendick and ran for two more to lead the Montabella attack and overcome a powerful Evart rushing game.
A 15-yard late hit penalty on Evart keyed Montabella on a scoring drive moments later to make it 32-26. Helmer scored from 10 yards on the quarterback keeper.
With 5:50 to play in the game. Montabella struck with Helmer passing 90 yards to Papendick for a touchdown. Helmer ran for the two points to make it 34-32, Montabella.
Late in the game, both teams had to wait out a 30-minute lightning storm.
“We had the momentum going right into that delay,” said Montabella coach Dave Clay. “We had just scored a big touchdown to take the lead We got them into a third down but had had problems stopping them on third down. I really thought that delay was going to slow our momentum. But we made some adjustments during the break.”
“The key was we weren’t able to defend No. 2,” Craven said, referring to Papendick, who caught seven passes for 213 yards. “We scored 32 points and we’re double covering him. He made plays and we didn’t.”
“They’re both seniors,” Clay said of Helmer and Papendick. “They’ve been playing varsity with me for three years. Those two guys, they’re leaders on the team. All the players draw off from them.”