MIA Wins! 36-20 Win Ends 36 Game, 5 Year Losing Streak

"We didn’t win the Super Bowl,” said Lew Montgomery, Marco Island Academy head coach, “we won a game.”

You can bet the crowd at the Super Bowl won’t be as happy as the crowd was at Winterberry Park Field Friday night, September 22. The Rays snapped a 36-game, 5-plus year losing streak with a 32-20 win over Warner Christian Academy. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the delirious Marco crowd poured onto the field like a tidal wave.

“It felt like the whole island rushed the field,” Montgomery said excitedly. "I just saw so much relief from community members. We have city officials that are excited. The parents are excited. We have alumni that were here at 5 p.m. at the locker room with us. They've been around all week looking forward to this game and saying, ‘You know, now's the time to turn the corner.' We had a lot of people supporting us all along the way. The fact that we were finally able to celebrate with them and give them that victory feels good. It almost doesn't feel real." 

In the wake of Jimmy Buffett’s recent passing, it’s refreshing to see that the Coconut Telegraph he sang about is still going strong on Marco Island. There was a bit of a buzz around the island. In the barber shops and beauty salons, Dunkin’, McDonalds, and Publix, people were talking about this possibly being the week the Rays were going to snap their protracted losing streak. 

As they swarmed the field, the crowd looked like it was ringing in the New Year as they cavorted around the field hugging each other and posing for selfies. Everyone seemed to want a shot of themselves with the scoreboard in the background proclaiming the Rays as winners.

“We did it,” Montgomery said, “we finally got our victory, but now it's time to move on to the next week. And that's the beauty of it. We're very excited about it. It took a lot of effort, but at the same time, we’ve got plenty of season left to go and we're excited about what's coming up.”

Montgomery is in his third year as head coach of the Rays. His record now stands at 1-12. His teams have always given their all. They've always been tough. They’ve come close to victory. They’ve never given up. But victory had eluded them.

"I don't believe I've ever been in a situation here where we were ahead on the scoreboard,” Montgomery mused, “it was a little surreal. But ultimately, you know, they believed in what I was trying to do and what the coaches were trying to accomplish. I think of Jack Cartwright's parents coming up to me and saying, ‘Thank you for working with Jack.' And I'm like, ‘No, thank Jack for sticking with us. For believing in what we're doing.' It's been a long time coming and not everybody is willing to stick around for something that might not come to fruition. So, these kids earned this victory. They earned the right to be out here and call themselves a Ray. I'm just so proud of them and for the way that they stuck together through all the years of struggles and difficulties and losses. Tonight’s score is more than I've scored during my whole career here,” Montgomery said, looking up at the scoreboard. I think we've had three touchdowns in the last three years before tonight. So, we're finally playing the football the right way.”

The Rays scored five touchdowns against Warner Christian Academy. The Eagles had talent—just not numbers. They dressed only 13 players. The Rays can relate. They finished their last two seasons with similar numbers.

“Warner Christian,” Montgomery said, "for their numbers—and we can totally relate and feel their situation—they were just a bunch of tough kids over there.”

The Rays were led by Alan Thomas and Ryan Winterick who each scored twice. Gavin Wall scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Winterick rushed eight times for 106 yards. Thomas picked up 80 yards on six carries. Other Rays with significant yardage were Noah Smith with 47 and Wall with 44. Two Rays completed passes: Wall was 2-5 for 47 yards, Winterick was 1-3 for six yards. Blake Dickson was the leading receiver with 35 yards. Dickson also picked up six yards rushing.

On defense Jack Cartwright had three sacks, one tackle for loss, three-and-a-half tackles and one forced fumble. Noah Smith had two sacks, one tackle for loss, and two and a half tackles.

The Rays (1-2) travel to St Petersburg to play Keswick Christian (2-3) on Friday, September 29. They return home October 6 when they’ll host Bradenton Christian (3-1).