Written by Josh Moore for 10thRegion.com.
On one hand, the 2024 season was a breakthrough for Montgomery County. The Indians ended a 26-year drought between district championships and got to host a playoff game for the first time since 2018.
Hand two, though, holds regret: Montgomery County didn’t just lose as a home favorite, but in deflating fashion. With about two minutes left, MoCo had the ball inside North Laurel’s 20-yard line in a tie game. The ball appeared to hit the ground and deflect off an Indian, into the hands of a Jaguars defender. Officials ruled the play an interception and instead of getting to kick what would have been the go-ahead field goal, the Indians lost on a field goal in overtime.
“That took the wind out of our sails,” MoCo head coach Michael Caba said. “And then you have to sit with that for almost a year. The way it all transpired at the end, it doesn’t sit well with our kids. That’s going to be some motivation for us.”
Montgomery graduated 12 seniors, most notably three starters on the offensive line, but returns the bulk of its statistical production. Quarterback Jacob Gumm (1,418 yards on 120 of 194 passing, 14 TDs, 7 interceptions in 2024) returns as a third-year starter. He’s rushed for a total of 100 yards on sparse carries over the last two seasons but will have the green light more often this fall.
That’s in part to help ease the new o-linemen’s transition from JV ball to varsity play, but also an endorsement of Gumm’s heightened sense of awareness between the lines as well as the reserves.
“We haven’t had a back-up behind him,” Caba said. “Now we do, so we’ll have an opportunity to run him a little bit more and extend some plays. Now, if it’s not there, instead of having him throw it away, he can scramble more. I won’t say we’ve held him back, but we knew that we needed to keep him healthy.”
Jaimen Caba, Michael’s son, is a “swiss-army knife” who led the team in rushing (693 yards, 7 TDs) and tackles (109, 3 TFL) last season. Along with Gabe Tipton (450 yards, 5 TD catches) and Duran Owens (442, 7 TD catches), to record at least 25 catches for the Indians last season (361, 3 TD catches). All are now seniors in Mt. Sterling.
So too is Landen Wilson, who trailed Jaimen on the rushing list (326 yards, 1 TD) and had six TFLs in 2024, and Buster Cremeans, a “tall, skinny” offensive tackle. They’ve all logged multiple years of starts for the Indians. That kind of experience and the steady growth Montgomery has shown in recent years, at least on paper, bodes well for its outlook.
And while the offensive line as a unit will need time to mature, it also boasts one of the state’s most promising talents in center Jacob “Scooby” Sutton, one of few players on MoCo’s roster who plays on one side of the ball. After not getting varsity action as a freshman, Sutton suffered an injury that kept him off the field for most of his sophomore campaign. He came back strong as a junior.
Sutton in recent months started turning heads on the recruiting trail. Tennessee offered him in June and he’s taken visits to Alabama and Florida.
“He’s about 6-2, 305, extremely strong,” Caba said. “He’s benched 405 a couple times. He’s volunteered to play tackle for us, but being a center and being that good? He can dominate inside and we don’t have to worry about double teaming, he can take care of that himself. That helps so much more than him being a tackle.”
The Indians allowed 24 points per game last year, good for 18th overall in Class 5A and among the best in the Bluegrass Region. Jaimen, Owens, Tipton and Wilson combined for all six of the team’s interceptions. Tipton, presumably, will have fewer opportunities to snag mid-air turnovers as he moves to inside linebacker, but his mastery of MoCo’s defense may be second to none; he’s played at just about every position in the middle and secondary in addition to lining up as a receiver.
“He’s just a ball player,” Caba said. “He’s a big kid that’s going to position his body and find the football.” Caba expects the defense to get a big boost early with the return of Hayden Staton, a senior defensive lineman who tore his ACL in the Indians’ third game last year but looked 100% leading up to camp.
Montgomery County somewhat backed into its first district title of the century. After dropping a tight home game against West Jessamine to start district play, the Indians won their next two (Madison Southern and at East Jessamine) to position themselves well in a tie-breaker scenario. MadSouth beat West Jessamine to improve to 2-1 in the district and the Indians won the head-to-head tiebreaker.
A district sweep in 2025 would be a signal that Montgomery County is worth keeping top of mind as the postseason draws near. Health is critical for all football teams, but particularly as a 5A program playing with a roster size closer to a typical 3A program.
What MoCo lacks in overall depth it makes up for in experience and local pride. Caba, who was the offensive coordinator Georgetown College for seven years before taking the reins at Montgomery County, is well-traveled; he graduated from Magoffin County High School after his father took a job there, but he spent most of his life outside of Kentucky.
He could have taken his coaching talent elsewhere, but the prospect of coaching not just a program, but the program in a community excited him. Caba, in turn, wants to keep the community excited as well. His team’s got the goods — and the motivation — to deliver.
“You can see the difference in the community support with our school versus a lot of other schools,” Caba said. “There’s been success, but it’s been kind of up and down throughout the years. When I came in they were down but we’ve got it swinging back around to the positive right now.”
