Montville — It took Montville time - too much, it turned out - to play with the required energy for a competitive high school football game Friday night. But finally, after the Indians emerged from a 19-0 deficit, they had the ball, fourth and two from their 43, eight minutes left, down by six points.

To punt or not to punt?

"I was surprised they did," Windham coach Brian Crudden said. "Maybe they were looking for a mishandle. (Kick returner) Joseph Santiago doesn't mishandle. He's a pretty good outfielder."

And he'd be a darn good pinch runner, too. Santiago's ensuing 38-yard run on Windham's first play from scrimmage after the punt set up Santiago's 5-yard touchdown run, giving the Whips an eventual 25-13 win in the season opener.

Windham quarterback Brody Labee, in his first varsity start, ran for two scores and threw for another, while the defense turned stout as the second half progressed.

Montville, meanwhile, got 84 yards rushing from Jordane Virgo, including two touchdown runs, but never recovered from the malaise of the first half.

"Sloppiness, mistakes, poor execution and general lethargy," Montville coach Tanner Grove said. "I don't know how to explain it. Week One at home. But when you play a bunch of young kids, I think it got to them early."

The Indians managed to cut the deficit to 19-7 by halftime, thanks to a 76-yard drive late in the second period. To that point, they'd been outgained 203-0. Quarterback Tyler Quidgeon hit Cody Calash with completions of 25 and 17 yards to set up the score.

Montville's first possession of the second half resulted in a 7-play, 65-yard scoring drive, capped by Virgo's 30-yard run.

The Indians' next possession looked promising, too, until they got stuffed on a fourth-and-one.

"The defense stepped up big," Crudden said. "There was a time, maybe the end of the first half and most of the third quarter, where our defense looked soft and tired. And then, we have a veteran that's missed a little time due to illness (Javier Alicea). I think having Jav go back in on defense helped."

Grove's decision to punt later in the fourth quarter, where the game eventually turned, didn't come without careful consideration.

"We always want to go for it on fourth and manageable," he said. "But with time on the clock, we thought we could get a stop and get the ball back in pretty good field position. We didn't want to end the game with eight minutes left."

This is the second straight year the Whips defeated Montville in the first game of the season.

"So many high school offenses now are spread and we've developed a couple of different game plans against it," Crudden said. "So many people run spread that going against a Wing-T team like us, you've got to spend a lot of time with your defensive game plan."

m.dimauro@theday.com

Twitter: @BCgenius