Led by Phipps, Linden football rushes past Montgomery

MONTGOMERY – In front of more than 3,000 fans, the Linden High School football team rode its rushing attack to defeat Montgomery 34-20 Friday night, moving into first place in the Mid-State 38 Conference’s Watchung division.

Linden senior running back Kyle Phipps put on a show, dominating the Cougars, scoring five touchdowns on 203 yards of total offense.

“We challenged him to be the work house this week and he accepted the challenge,” Linden coach Deon Candia said about his running back’s performance.

Montgomery began the game by fumbling the opening kickoff, which led to an 11-yard touchdown run for Phipps. On the following drive Montgomery tied the game with a 24-yard touchdown pass by Chris Chugunov to Jabari Clemons.

Linden would respond with two big scores from Phipps, a 54 yard touchdown run and a 62 yard reception, for a score giving them a 12-point lead at half time.

“I try to do it big every single play, every single time,” said Phipps.

Looking to avoid losing their home opener, Montgomery (2-1) began the second half with two strong defensives stops on consecutive drives, holding the tigers scoreless and keeping Phipps in check. With three minutes to go in the third quarter senior quarterback Chugunov would connect with his brother Mitch Chugunov for a 25 yard touchdown pass cutting the lead to 19-13.

“After that first drive I told my boys, weather the storm and keep fighting and that’s what they did” coach Candia said.

The Chugunov brothers would continue to battle but the Linden rushing attack would be too much as they controlled the time of possession, adding two more scores from Phipps, giving the Tigers their first 3-0 start since 2009.

“The win gives us a boost, it gives the kids a boost, we’re proud of the start but we have a lot of work to do” Dandia said.