Rays Start Season with Win

The Marco Island Academy (MIA) football team secured their first victory of the 2024 season at the opening game on Friday, August 30th. 

For years, the Marco Island Academy football team had given their best efforts at every game yet ended up falling short each time. After a monumental win last season, the hopes for the team have been skyrocketing. With a win of 13-8 against Jordan Christian Prep, the Rays have proven again that they are capable of winning games and performing well.  

Noah Smith made the two touchdowns of the night: one in the third quarter and one in the fourth. Alan Thomas had eight rushes for 33 yards, and Ryan Winterick had four receptions for 55 yards. Logan Drag led the defense with seven tackles, a half-sack, and four assists. 

Head Coach Lew Montgomery had many great words about the defensive side of the team. “We had four sacks total for the defense, fourteen tackles overall, nine tackles for loss, two different hurries, and two forced fumbles.” With strong forces and determination, the Rays were able to shut down the other team and be much more successful than their opponents. “We ended up with a total of 184 yards on the night compared to their 20 yards,” Montgomery said. 

The Ray’s team has numbers of over 30 players this year, something almost unheard of in MIA football history. Montgomery is hopeful for the new teamafter the season-opening win. “Overall, it was a great day. It’s a good start to the program for the new season.”  

After moving to a division that is more suitable for the team, the season looks to be much more hopeful than previous ones. With the mix of more evenly matched teams and the high number of players on the team, the Manta Rays seem to be on the right track to a successful season. 

The team will take on Boca Raton Christian at 7:00 on Friday, September 6th, at Winterberry Field.