Justin DeLeon rushed for 374 yards and Powhatan scored four touchdowns in the fourth quarter to surge into the 4A East playoffs with a 57-43 victory over Monticello, spoiling senior night and snapping the Mustangs’ six-season playoff appearance streak.
“We just wore them down,” said Powhatan coach Jim Woodson, as his senior running back tallied 238 second-half yards on just 11 touches to help the Indians break open a 29-29 game after three quarters. “(DeLeon)’s got great vision. He’s a slashing-type runner with that subtle step where he keeps going downhill and they can’t catch him. People don’t realize how fast he is.”
The Indians’ offensive line started to open huge gaps for the ground game as Powhatan took possession at its own 13 late in the third. DeLeon carried on the first three plays and covered 74 yards (less 10 for a holding penalty). Ross Lewis covered the rest, scoring from 20 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter.
“Lewis is good but there’s just not enough footballs to go around,” Woodson said, as Lewis added 77 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries. “I feel sorry for him that DeLeon’s so good.”
Monticello pulled back within a point with a 10-play drive, capped by Kevin Jarrell’s third touchdown pass of the night to Austin Haverstrom. From there, though, Powhatan gashed the Mustang defense with three touchdowns in less than four minutes. After a failed onside kick, DeLeon went 43 yards on the next snap for six. After a turnover on downs near midfield, DeLeon took it 39 yards on the first snap to the 8, and Lewis scored two plays later. Moments after another turnover on downs at the Indians’ 20, Ross Lewis broke loose for a 48-yard touchdown.
“Our kids fought their butts off, but we’re just out-manned right now,” said Monticello coach Jeff Lloyd. “We’ve got a lot of kids playing both ways. We don’t have any depth, and they’re good.”
It was a painfully-familiar course of events for Monticello (3-7, 1-6), which was competitive in each of its last four games against larger playoff-bound schools (Orange, Louisa, and Albemarle), but was unable to secure the victory it needed to punch its ticket in 3A West. In what turned out to be the final game of the 2016 season, the offense generated some career-highs: Jarrell passed for 279 yards, and Haverstrom caught nine passes for 186 yards. Junior running back Jerrick Ayers went over 1,000 yards for the season with 109 yards on 16 carries.
“Our kids gave everything they had,” Lloyd said. “Our quarterback’s a special kid, tailback’s a special kid, and the offensive line blocked well at times tonight. Reid Huffman’s playing with a shoulder that pops out and he pops it back in and keeps going. Austin Haverstrom played his best football game of the year tonight.”
The game started with a school-record tying 94-yard touchdown pass from Jarrell to Haverstrom, giving Monticello an early 7-0 lead. The Mustangs then forced a three-and-out, but a lost fumble at its own 20 to setup the Indians. Senior quarterback Jacob Oglesby found senior receiver Jonathan Arnold for a 7-yard touchdown on third-and-goal. It was the first of four straight series ending in touchdowns for both teams.
“At first, I was thinking whoever had the ball last was going to win,” said Woodson. “I think defensively we stunk the place up in the first half. I have to give them credit that they’ve got some offensive weapons. Number 5 (Jarrell) can play for anybody in this district. They’ve got some good receivers; 4 and 21, they’re tough.”
Ayers scored on a 15-yard run to put Monticello up 15-8 at the end of the first quarter. Oglesby hit Arnold for a 23-yard touchdown to answer for Powhatan. On the next offensive snap, Ayers took an option pitch and raced 61 yards for a touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Powhatan slowed things down with a 5:50 drive covering 93 yards over 12 plays. DeLeon covered the last 21 yards for his first touchdown of the night, but Monticello maintained a 23-21 lead after Haverstrom jumped the slant route to deny the two-point attempt. The Mustangs responded with an effective two-minute drill. Jarrell converted third-and-9 with an 11-yard completion to Haverstrom, and then hit Reid Huffman for 19 yards down to the Powhatan 26. Two plays later, a bubble screen to Haverstrom went 25 yards for a touchdown, and Monticello looked to head into halftime with an eight-point lead. Instead, Oglesby engineered a quick response through the air.
“He’s a captain and our leader, and this is his first full game coming back (from injury),” Woodson said. “Against Hopewell (in week 2), we were down with 47 seconds and had 91 yards to go. We scored and won the ballgame. We can get it down the field.”
Five passes covered 78 yards and Ty Hicks hauled in a 24-yard touchdown. Oglesby hit Arnold for the two-point conversion to head into the break all tied at 29.
Arnold finished with 63 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions. DeLeon also caught four passes for 43 yards, bringing his all-purpose total to 417. The Indians racked up 656 yards of offense, the most ever by a Monticello opponent.
After Ayers, Jarrell added 46 yards on 13 rushing attempts. Behind Haverstrom, Huffman caught four passes for 74 yards. Ayers and Haverstrom each accounted for three touchdowns.
Powhatan (8-2) heads on the road to face Chancellor (8-2) in the first round of 4A East’s Conference 19 & 20 pod.
