What’s next for record-setting Marshfield QB Dom Montiel? Basketball season, followed by college football … somewhere

“Winners win, and on a big stage, he stepped up and led his team and did everything he needed to do to help us bring home the blue trophy.”

By René Ferrán| Photos by Leon Neuschwander

Marist Catholic coach Frank Geske has seen plenty of quarterback prospects during his nearly half-century career at the high school and college levels.

He knows what it takes for a quarterback to succeed at the Division I level.

And he has no doubt Marshfield senior Dom Montiel has what it takes.

“I’ve talked to coaches about him,” Geske said Saturday night after his Spartans fell 49-34 to Montiel and the Pirates in the Class 4A state championship game in Cottage Grove. “The biggest reason I think he (is a Division I prospect) is because the play is never over for him. That’s the scary thing. It could be fourth-and-20, and no big deal for him. I’m going to make this. It’s never over.

“Sometimes, you don’t attribute the fact that a kid can be a warrior when you’re a quarterback. And he’s a warrior. He does what he’s supposed to do, and he plays a play longer than anybody.”

Montiel showed off his entire skillset in Saturday’s victory — deep balls, touch on short passes, throwing on the run — and added a wrinkle that he hadn’t displayed much this season.

He threw for a career-high 439 yards, third-most in 11-man Oregon state championship game history and moving him to 10th on the state's single-season yardage list with 3,667 yards, completing 28 of 44 passes with five touchdowns (making him the fifth quarterback in state history to reach 50 TDs in a season) and one interception.

But for a kid who finishes his four years on the South Coast 15th on the state’s all-time list with 7,340 passing yards (moving past Beaverton’s Taylor Barton in his final game), ninth on the career completions list with 509 and 10th in touchdowns (86), a big passing game is almost a given.

It was what Montiel did with his feet that caught the Spartans off guard. He had his first career 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 121 yards — many on designed run plays and not on scrambles.

He capped his night with a 12-yard run around right end with 1:30 to play that secured the Pirates’ first state championship since 1992.

“Oh, wow. That’s awesome. I didn’t know,” Montiel said. “I mean, stats don’t matter, though. The only stat that matters is the ‘W,’ and we got that. 

“Right now, I’m just going to enjoy my time with teammates, spend time with my family. Maybe when I look back on the stats, it’ll be awesome. But the banner that’s going to be hung in the main gym is what matters most, not my stats.”

Pirates coach John Lemmons, the MVP of Marshfield’s previous state championship team, heaped praise on this year’s MVP.

“Winners win, and on a big stage, he stepped up and led his team and did everything he needed to do to help us bring home the blue trophy,” Lemmons said. “He’s a great kid, very smart, and he’s just a winner.”

Lemmons never had a doubt how Montiel would respond after throwing his interception early in the fourth quarter, when he tried to loft a screen pass over Marist Catholic defensive end Tanner Relling. The 6-foot-5 senior stretched his entire wingspan to snatch the ball out of the air and set up the Spartans for a potential tying touchdown at the Pirates 29.

“He’s been playing sports his whole life, and he’s been in big games before,” Lemmons said. “I knew he’d be able to shake it off and do what he needed to do to help us be successful.”

Indeed, after the Pirates got a turnover on downs by the length of a chain link at their 1-yard line, Montiel led them on a 14-play, 99-yard game-clinching drive, hitting on 4 of 5 passes before finishing with a designed run around right end to cover the final 12 yards for the clinching score.

“The best quarterback I’ve ever played with,” said senior receiver Mason Pederson, who set career highs of nine catches for 203 yards (a 4A championship game record) and three touchdowns. “Perfect balls every throw, and I never have to work for anything. He’s awesome, and he’s a great friend. I love him to death.”

With his high school football career over, Montiel now has his sights set on bringing an OSAA state basketball title to the Coos Bay school. The Pirates earned the 4A Showcase championship in June and now look to win their first official state title since 1953 this winter.

He also has college football offers to weigh. He holds offers from Portland State and Western Oregon, but Geske and others think FBS schools should come calling soon.

Montiel is taking it all in stride.

“I’m not sure when I’m going to make a decision,” he said. “I’m probably going to talk to my family. Maybe I’d like to sign early just to get it done, because I’ve got basketball now and I want to focus on basketball. But I don’t know. Whatever happens, happens. It’s in God’s hands.”

Full game story, photo gallery