Contrasting seasons for Montanas

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Brian Herman is the Valley Independent sports editor and can be reached at 724-684-2667 or via e-mail.

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Nate and Nick Montana, the sons of pro football Hall of Famer Joe Montana, have had contrasting 2009 seasons.

Nate, who transferred from Notre Dame to Pasadena City Community College earlier this year, had to take a back seat to two other passers with the Lancers, who posted a 5-5 record.

A 6-0, 200-pound freshman, Montana played in five games and had a passer rating of 62.29. He completed 31 of 88 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns with five interceptions.

Sophomores Nick Ponce and Jonathan Troast were the passers ahead of Montana.

Ponce hit 122 of 189 passes for 1,582 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was intercepted nine times with a 152.33 passer rating.

Troast had a passer rating of 120.22 after completing 40 of 84 passes for five touchdowns with three interceptions.

Nick Montana, meanwhile, is having another big season at Oaks Christian High in California.

After throwing for 2,404 yards and 33 touchdowns in a 14-0 campaign in 2008, the 6-3, 194-pound Montana has passed for 1,958 yards and 27 touchdowns this season.

Ranked first in the state and fifth in the country, Oaks Christian is 11-0 and takes a 32-game winning streak into Friday's Northwest quarterfinals at Harvard-Westlake (7-3) of Studio City.

Montana is joined in the Lions' backfield by one of the country's premier running backs in Malcolm Jones.

A 6-0, 215-pounder, Jones has run for 1,846 yards and 33 touchdowns this season. He's averaging 11 yards a carry and his next touchdown will be the 100th of his varsity career.

Unlike his brother, Marshall, who's now at USC, Malcolm will attend UCLA.

Two of Montana's better known teammates are Trevor Gretzky and Trey Smith, the respective sons of hockey great Wayne Gretzky and actor Will Smith.

The younger Gretzky has completed 20 of 37 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns with one interception as Montana's backup.

Smith is one of Montana's favorite targets with 23 receptions for 181 yards and two touchdowns.

Joe Montana made some news earlier in the month when he put his estate outside Calistoga on the market for $49 million. If Montana's asking price is met, it would become the highest amount paid for a home in California's Sonoma County.

Named Villa Montana, the 500-acre property has a 9,700-square-foot Tuscan style main residence, a full-sized basketball court, skeet shooting range, gym, pool and spa.

There are also two creeks that run year round, a private pond stocked with fish, a guesthouse and a caretaker's residence.

n And thanks to Tom Rapp, of Monongahela, who says when you are completely satisfied, remember what happens to the fat turkey!