Flying high after a huge road win over archrival Madison County last week and playing in the friendly confines of Martin Mooney Field once again, William Monroe tumbled back down to earth Friday night in a 34-14 loss to a solid Central-Woodstock squad.
Central got a balanced effort through the air and on the ground and never trailed in remaining perfect in district play while handing the Greene Dragons their first home loss of the season.
After forcing a Monroe fumble on the Dragons’ first drive, the Falcons (7-1, 4-0 Bull Run District) wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard, as on their third play from scrimmage, Zebediah Dyer hooked up with Kyle Clanton on a 71-yard bomb for a 7-0 lead not even two minutes into the game, setting the tone for the evening. That was the only score of the first quarter.
“Our defense stayed out there a long time,” Monroe head coach Jon Rocha said. “We held them in the first quarter, then the second it fell apart. We made too many mistakes. For the past two weeks we’ve been executing assignments. Tonight we had a bunch of kids who were off assignment.”
The Dragons (4-4, 3-2) struck back early in the second when Malique Shackleford sneaked in on fourth-and-goal to even the score. But Central answered right back with a 10-play drive taking up over five minutes culminating in a two-yard touchdown dive by Carston Shockey. Shockey carried the ball on eight of those 10 plays. Shockey rushed for 138 yards on 19 carries on the evening.
“I think it took a great turn for us at that point,” Central head coach Mike Yew said. “Monroe came out, they were bigger than us, they were stronger than us, they hit us in the mouth early. I’m so proud of our kids–they stayed the course.”
The Falcons extended their lead to 19-7 at halftime when Dyer and Clanton connected again with under two minutes to go before the break, this time from 20 yards out.
The Dragons’ struggles continued in the third, as they turned the ball over on downs on their first drive after the break. That led to another long Central drive capped by Shockey’s second touchdown run, this one from eight yards out, to make it 26-7 with 4:43 to go in the third.
Monroe seemed poised to cut into that lead and begin a comeback early in the fourth quarter, but Shackleford was intercepted in the end zone, one of three Dragon turnovers on the game, with 10:13 to go in the fourth, essentially sealing the game for Central. The Falcons added a garbage time touchdown on an eight-yard scramble from Dyer, the big quarterback bowling over a Monroe defender as he reached the goal line.
“We thought we had some issues fixed, but we reverted back this week,” Rocha said. “And it happens. It happens against good teams.”
Shackleford had one of his toughest games of the season, finishing just 8-for-18 with 104 yards and a pair of interceptions. He also ran the ball 19 times for 70 yards before being lifted in favor of Alex Kenzie midway through the fourth quarter. Kenzie led the Monroe’s second touchdown drive of the night, taking the Dragons 75 yards in four minutes before hitting Kam’Ron McCain from 17 yards out to make the score look a little better.
“Keeping [Shackelford] in check is tough because they spread the field and gain an advantage that way, then they run the fullback and let him follow,” Yew said. “You need guys on defense who can play the flat, you need guys who can play all over the field.”
Monroe will host Culpeper next Friday in its Senior Night game. Central hosts district rival Strasburg.
