Montabella has one more shot to win a state title in 8-man football, and they are off to a hot start.
The Montabella Mustangs opened the season by facing the two state title winners from 2025, and if these results are any indication, their state title hopes are well on track. The Mustangs dominated Portland St. Patrick 52-24 to advance to 2-0. They have outscored their opponents 114-36 to begin the year, and what’s scary is that those two schools were the top teams in Michigan’s 8-man football division last year.
Montabella has only thrown a couple of passes this year, but that’s because the run game has been absolutely stunning. They ran for over 400 yards and seven touchdowns in the contest.
Running back Austin Jensen led the charge. He was by far the most fun player to watch so far this season for me, as he ran for 200 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries. These weren’t just wide-open runs, either; his ability to juke and spin through contact led to multiple highlight-reel plays.
QB Josh Arganbright was almost as good, rushing for 175 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. Ethan Greene added another late in the night.
Really, the offense was the key, and the defense only needed to slow Portland St. Patrick down. After a tight first half, punctuated by a last-second touchdown pass by Portland St. Patrick that closed the gap to 24-16 before the half.
After that, Montabella locked in, holding the Shamrocks scoreless in the third quarter. Unfortunately, Portland’s QB was injured on a deep pass attempt in the fourth quarter. Portland ran it in late to close the gap slightly.
Overall, Montabella looks like the team to beat in Michigan 8-man football, but they still have a long way to go. Injuries and adjustments are bound to happen, and that can derail any team.
