William Monroe exhibited no hangover from last week’s blowout at Charlottesville, instead rebounding with a 23-15 triumph over George Mason to open their Bull Run District slate.
“We just wanted to move on,” said Dragons’ senior running back Greg Sizemore. “Tough losses happen to all great teams. A big example we used to focus on bouncing back was Florida State, who got beat 60-something to [20]. Coach Rocha told us our most important game is the very next game. We came out in our heavy formation and tried to pound the ball to get us going.”
Sizemore accounted for all three Monroe touchdowns, and his game-highs in carries (19) and yards (118) led the Dragons’ two-pronged ground attack. Fellow senior Malique Shackelford added 110 yards on 17 rushes, plus 109 yards through the air, as the offense starting picking up chunks as the second half progressed. After the first two quarters were tight in points and yardage, Monroe piled up 226 total yards after the break and built a two-score advantage.
“Our mentality right before halftime was to get a field goal, and then come back out and score again,” Sizemore said, echoing another higher-level philosophy often associated with the New England Patriots. “We wanted to take a 10-point lead immediately (after halftime), and we ended up executing right.”
First, junior kicker Josue Rivas-Bonilla delivered in the closing seconds of the first half as his 35-yard attempt split the uprights.
“Last year we had our kicking woes, and this year we’re blessed with two,” said Monroe coach Jon Rocha, recalling how the Dragons went for two all of the time in 2015. “Jackson Ward, a freshman, kicks extra points and short field goals. Anything that’s 30 yards or so, Josue has really come on. He nailed that one for us.”
The Dragons then opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 85-yard drive over nearly four minutes. Sizemore gained 20 yards to convent a fourth and one, and then scored from 11 yards out to open a 17-7 lead.
“We want to run the ball, and most teams know that and so they crowd the box,” Rocha said. “We had to go to a different formation to get them out. Coach Wimmer said at halftime, ‘I got it’. He went to trips the last series [of the first half] when we kicked the field goal and we drove down the field.”
The teams exchanged punts for the rest of the quarter, with Shackelford being temporarily sidelined by cramps during the Dragons’ next series after breaking loose for a 22-yard scramble. He was back at the end of the third as Monroe took possession at its own 10. He hit sophomore receiver Jalen McKinnie for a gain of 39 to convert third-and-8, and ran for 18 yards two plays later. Sizemore cashed in with a 30-yard run for his third touchdown of the game, capping the 90-yard drive with 10:14 remaining.
“My offensive linemen were giving me great looks all game, so I was just keeping my head down making sure I was hitting the holes I was supposed to,” Sizemore said. “As soon as I got past that first level, I knew if I just made one move on the safety, because of the way Mason’s defense was, I’d be free. All I saw was the endzone.”
Mason blocked the PAT to maintain a two-score margin at 23-7. Aided by a couple Monroe penalties, the Mustangs responded with a 55-yard touchdown drive that ended with quarterback Thomas Creed’s first pass completion of the night, a 39-yard catch-and-run by tailback Dustin Green on fourth-and-11. Creed kept the ball and won the race to the left pylon on the two-point conversion, pulling Mason within 23-15 with 7:22 to play.
From there, the defenses rose again, with Monroe punting twice and Mason once, before the Mustangs got a final chance with 1:58 remaining. It was quickly fourth-and-5, and the Dragons flushed Green out to the left where senior linebacker Dylan Madison pulled him down for a 3-yard loss, sealing the win.
Monroe opened the night’s scoring with Sizemore’s four yard touchdown run that capped a nine-play, 50-yard drive midway through the first quarter. After an interception at midfield interrupted Monroe’s second drive, Mason tied the game with Green’s 7-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. Monroe fumbled to halt its next series, again near midfield, but the defense forced a four-and-out on downs. The teams traded scoreless possessions over the rest of the quarter before the Dragons began a two-minute drill from their own 30. Shackelford completed four passes to senior receiver Kam’ron McCain to advance from the Monroe 34 to the Mason 23, setting up the last-second field goal to grab a 10-7 lead at the break.
After Sizemore and Shackelford, McKinnie added 47 yards on 11 carries. Green led the Mustangs with 50 yards on 12 rushes. Jack Felgar added 22 yards on nine attempts. Monroe finished the night with a 382-123 advantage in total offense.
“The hardest thing about this, and Clarke, is you can’t get a good look in practice,” Rocha said as Monroe (2-2, 1-0), heads to Clarke County next Friday as district play continues. “You can’t expect your scout team to emulate it in two days of practice and a walk-through. You pick it apart in film. We watched tons of film today, and we’ll watch tons of film this week.”
