Aidan McLaughlin and Ben Montgomery had already left a legacy at Brookside prior to any postseason honors being released.
Their legend has grown even more, as they both were named Division V All-Ohioans on Dec. 5.
McLaughlin earned second-team honors on the offensive line, while Montgomery was named to the third team at defensive back. This was Brookside coach Scott O’Donnell’s fifth season at the helm, and he couldn’t recall a player make the top three teams in his tenure. That changes now.
“They’re both leaders in this senior class. They were great players for us and have been great players for us at Brookside,” O’Donnell said. “If you’re their caliber, you’re going to be playing for three or four years. They’ve been around for four years and we’ll be sorry to lose them, but they ended on a good note. That’s a positive thing for them.”
As much as their play on the field was recognized, these two seniors were valued leaders for the Brookside program. There are stats accumulated over a season, but leadership can’t be measured. Both players have different leadership styles according to O’Donnell, but players gravitate toward them.
McLaughlin had a strong presence on both sides of the line of scrimmage for Brookside. Behind him, the Cardinals rushed for 163 yards per game. Defensively, he tacked on 69 tackles and six sacks from his defensive end spot.
“Aidan was an individual that did things and was a leader by how he did them,” O’Donnell said. “People followed him because of that. He wasn’t someone that was very boisterous, but he led and got our Cardinal award this year because of it. He just did everything the right way and if you’re a young guy, or any guy, you’re probably going to him to ask.”
Montgomery was a jack-of-all trades player for Brookside offensively, but his impact at defensive back couldn’t be denied, either. He started at safety and outside linebacker, piling up 36 tackles and four interceptions.
On offense, he played everywhere and put up over 1,100 yards and a total of 13 touchdowns. He rushed for 781 yards, passed for 304 yards and had 109 receiving yards. He averaged 158.7 yards per game.
“By his play, Ben led that way,” O’Donnell said. “People followed because of the kind of athlete he was. He showed up on game days, and you knew that he was going to play one way or another. They (Ben and Aidan) both led in their own kind of ways.”
Brookside loses two talented football players, but whatever happens next for the program could be thanks to athletes like them. The Cardinals finished 3-7 this past season, but there have been more bright spots as of late. After O’Donnell came in to just over 20 kids in the program, the Cardinals have been able to field a JV team now.
Now there are two All-Ohioans, and the hope is there will be more down the line. Good teams in the area that have made deep playoff runs have a handful of All-Ohioans, and that’s the next step for Brookside.
There were certainly ups and downs this past season by starting 3-1 and losing the final six games. Through thick and thin, players such as McLaughlin and Montgomery led this team. Their legacy will have much more weight than just being named All-Ohio.
“It’s tough. For us, we were 3-1 and then lost our last six games,” O’Donnell said. “It’s still tough to finish that way. Being seniors going through that, you can go in one of two directions. For the most part, both of those guys did a great job keeping the boat floating in tough times. That’s a tribute to both of them.”
