Montville — It wasn’t over for five minutes Friday night when Gabe Lombardi’s teammates started calling him “No Fly Zone,” in tribute to his work thus far this season as a lockdown corner on Waterford High’s renewed, renovated and revived defense.

Indeed, Lombardi did the air traffic control thing quite well — and even caught a 49-yard touchdown pass — as the Lancers moved to 3-0 with a 42-6 win over Montville.

Now for the part that should make football coaches — even beyond Waterford’s Zeth Nolda — weep tears of joy. Lombardi, a senior, ignored all the fatalism attached to the injury perils associated with football and decided to play for the first time in 2024.

“It was really my friends who kept saying, ‘Gabe, you gotta come out,’” Lombardi said. “Hey, I like football. I watch Red Zone every Sunday. I’m having a really good time right now.”

Lombardi and the Lancers knew that Montville and quarterback Aidan Johnson were capable of throwing the ball effectively. Translation: The secondary better have paid attention in practice all week.

“My DB (defensive backs) coach (Paul Strecker) told me this week, ‘it’s you or Parker (Spencer),” Lombardi said, alluding to which corner the Wolves might pick on. “Coach Strecker goes to me ‘you’re the rook (rookie) and Parker’s the veteran. I had to be ready.”

He was — and so was the rest of the defense, injuries up front notwithstanding.

“Gabe has been huge,” Nolda said. “He’s a great athlete in other sports (basketball and track) and his decision to play boosted everybody’s confidence. He’s a popular kid in school and that definitely helps our program that he decided to play.”

Lombardi’s touchdown reception came midway through the first period, contributing to another video game night for quarterback Jax Higgins, who finished with 378 all-purpose yards — 191 rushing and 187 passing.

Higgins threw touchdown strikes to Lombardi, Spencer (33 yards), Mason Nocery (9 yards) and Gabe VanOverloop (43 yards), while running for scores of 25 and 40 yards.

“I thought the offense had more balance and that’s what we’ll need going forward,” Nolda said.

Waterford’s 21-0 halftime lead was trimmed to 21-6 early in the third period. That’s when the Lancers mounted a drive that resulted in Higgins’ 25-yard touchdown run that made the lead comfortable again.

Nick Filip picked off a pass for Waterford’s defense and freshman kicker Jameson Barlow drilled five extra points.

Kymarny Bossa scored on a 15-yard run for Montville (0-3).

m.dimauro@theday.com