Lee Routs Monument Mountain in Opener
LEE, Mass. – Lee High football fans can always look forward to hearing the public address announcer add a little something extra each time the Wildcats make a first down.
They did not get to hear that too much in Thursday’s season opener.
Instead of making first downs, Lee just kept scoring touchdowns.
Jaydee Reber had three of those scores in a 48-0 win over South County rival Monument Mountain as the 2025 Division 8 semi-finalists got their 2026 campaign started in style.
Reber ran for 83 yards on just six carries, and David Kirchner threw for 83 yards and a pair of touchdowns on a night when Lee’s offense scored on all but one of its possessions.
Three of those touchdowns came on just four plays from scrimmage in the first quarter to take a 22-0 lead fewer than six minutes into the game.
“We’re happy the way it worked out,” Lee coach Tom Salinetti said. “It did work out the way we thought. I never at any point there thought the guys were satisfied. That was what I was a little more excited about.
“They were excited for each other, and that’s what we were excited about. They also wanted to continue to put their nose to the grindstone and keep coming for more.”
The evening started out on an emotional note, with a military flyover, the colors presented by youth football players and first responders at midfield, a moment of silence in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and a rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner by Lee student Ryleigh Fillio.
The opening kickoff then gave Monument the ball at its 35. But it couldn’t make a first down, and things went downhill from there.
A failed trick punt play gave Lee a short field at the plus-29, and Reber ran around the right side on the Wildcats’ first play for a touchdown. He then ran in the two-point conversion to make it 8-0.
A fumble on the Spartans’ next possession set up Lee’s offense on the Monument Mountain 16, and it took the Wildcats two plays to find paydirt on a 4-yard Reber run.
Reber then recovered another Monument Mountain fumble at the Spartans’ 38 with 6 minutes, 11 seconds left in the quarter. On the next play, Kirchner hit Gabe Ranzoni for a score and a 22-0 lead with 6:02 on the clock.
Monument Mountain got off a punt on its next possession, and Lee took over at the Spartans’ 45.
The Wildcats picked up a couple of first downs on their way to a third-and-1 at the Monument Mountain 5 as the quarter expired. Seamus Cooney ran it in from there on the first play of the second quarter, and the rout was officially on after Cooney’s conversion made it 30-0.
The next time Lee got the ball, though, Monument Mountain’s defense forced a fourth down near midfield. And the Wildcats’ incomplete pass gave the visitors the ball at their own 44.
The Spartans then strung together three first downs thanks to 3-of-4 passing for 28 yards on the drive by quarterback Peter Kay. But on third-and-15 at the 17 with time running out, Lee’s Mason Lucy broke into the backfield for a sack that ended the half and the Spartans’ best scoring chance of the night.
A 38-yard kick return by Bryce Hoff gave Lee possession at the Monument Mountain 44 to start the second half. And the Wildcats needed just three plays to get into the end zone on a 28-yard Reber run.
The next Wildcat possession ended in a 21-yard TD pass from Kirchner to Lucy that made it 42-0.
And in a fourth quarter played under running time, Lee’s backups produced the game’s final score when Kodie Mendoza went 38 yards for a touchdown.
Monument Mountain’s backups showed some spark on offense as well, getting 35 yards through the air from sophomore QB Henry Palazzo to get the ball down to the Lee 22. But the Wildcats’ Sawyer Bragdon delivered a sack for a loss of 11 yards, and Carter Shufelt picked off a pass on the final play of the game.
Lee (1-0) goes to Wahconah next Friday. Monument Mountain (0-1) is home next Friday against Westfield.
Photos from this game to come.