Montville — Sophomore Jacob Commander describes his running style as backyard football.

He had to fight for every inch playing with his brothers in the backyard.

Now he's doing the same thing for New London High School.

The hard-to-bring down Commander piled up 130 yards on just nine carries and scored three touchdowns in a 41-0 shutout of Montville. The Whalers raised their record to a 4-0.

Several times Commander appeared to be down but somehow managed to keep his balance and rip off some big gains.

"I do think it's kind of hard to tell if I'm on the ground or not," Commander said. "You think you've got the tackle, then you don't. They're confused."

The Whalers know just how hard it is to bring down Commander. They have to face him in practice.

"He's a pain in the behind for defenders in practice because they all get mad because he never goes (down) easy ever," coach Juan Roman said. "You play the way you practice. He comes out here and he's going hard all the time. He's getting his hand down and he's fighting.

"It just adds another dimension to our offense."

New London benefitted from excellent field position, starting its first five drives in Montville territory. Montville's defense, which stopped New London three times on fourth down in the first half, prevented the deficit from being greater than 20-0 at halftime.

"It's difficult to deal with," Montville coach Tanner Grove said of the field position. "Our defense gave them everything they had. We're happy with their effort."

It was a bumpy start for the Indians (2-3), who tried to surprise the Whalers with an onside kick on the opening kickoff. New London's Trenton Thompson recovered.

The very next play, Commander raced around the right side and into the clear. He found resistance near the goal line but fought his way into the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown run.

Montville helped set up New London's next scoring drive, committing two penalties during a punt return that put the ball on the Indians' six-yard line. On third down and goal, Commander took a pitch and ran it in from five yards out for a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter.

New London pushed the lead to 20-0, as quarterback Melquann Gomez scrambled for a 10-yard touchdown run on third and goal. The longest scoring drive of the first half covered 63 yards. Gomez completed two passes for 56 yards.

Montville struggled to move the ball all night, not crossing midfield until the opening drive of the second half. That possession ended with a lost fumble on fourth down at the New London 25.

Defense has sparked New London's resurgence. The Whalers have allowed only 26 points in four games.

"I'm a defensive guy," Roman said. "Any time we have defensive success, it means more to me than anything, because you can win a game 2-0. It's nice when you score a lot more points, but pitching a shutout is nice."

New London kept adding to its lead in the second half. Commander accounted for 61 of 68 yards of a third quarter scoring drive. He stayed low to the ground and scooted 17 yards into the end zone for a 27-0 lead.

The Whalers closed out the scoring with two late touchdowns. Gomez threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to D. Major Roman, who out-battled a defender, briefly juggled the ball before hauling it in. A muffed punt led to Renelson Michel's 12-yard return for a touchdown.

It was another positive step for New London.

"The win was very important to all of us because the season is important," Commander said. "We want a championship."

g.keefe@theday.com