Monticello’s offense was as good as advertised Friday night.
The defense? Better. Much better.
With T.J. Tillery, Thomas Wallace and Sam Patterson bringing the heat after a slow start, Monticello’s defense confounded Albemarle High and the offense did the rest as the Mustangs pulled away to a 42-14 victory.
“Come the second quarter, everybody started coming together,” Wallace said. “The coaches got into us at halftime, I’m not going to lie. He told us we need to start penetrating no matter how much we’re up by.”
The win was the first in the Rodney Redd era, as Redd took over in the spring for long-time Monticello head coach Brud Bicknell.
“This is huge at so many different levels,” Redd said. “This year has been a transition year. Everybody has a lot of confidence, but at the same time everybody is like ‘let’s wait and see what this is going to be like.’ But I think we established our identity tonight as a team and as a coaching staff.”
Wallace attacked up the middle, flooding gaps between the tackles and disrupting Albemarle’s spread offense. Tillery, the sophomore bandit in the Mustangs’ defensive scheme, wreaked havoc from the edge and in pass coverage, giving the Mustangs (1-0) a physical presence all over the field, but particularly in the final three quarters.
“We did come out really slow, but after the first half we came out with a purpose,” Tillery said. “We got a lot more aggressive.”
Tillery seemed to be in on nearly every big play and delivered several brutal hits that energized the Monticello sideline. He recovered a fumble on Albemarle’s opening drive after the Patriots (0-2) quickly marched into the red zone.
“He’s a phenomenal player — he’s like a stick of dynamite,” Redd said. “He is just explosive and he’s a natural football player.”
Patterson complimented that pressure with rock solid play at defensive end, including a third quarter sack that ended a critical Albemarle drive on fourth and 13. The stop set the stage for Monticello to march 59 yards in five plays for a 28-7 lead and all but knock the Patriots out of the contest.
While the defense rose to the occasion, the Monticello offense put together an eye-opening performance, leaning on the ground game and Isaac Robinson in particular to move the ball. Robinson ripped off a 152-yard night, chewing up yards at a 12.7-yard per touch clip while scoring a pair of touchdowns.
“I’m just hungry right now,” Robinson said. “I was really looking forward to this season, I’ve got a lot of drive for this season.”
Robinson paid his dues as a fullback in 2010 and proved Friday he was adept at finding seams, running with a purpose and making something happen once he gets to the second level.
“He’s a different back then some of the guys we’ve had,” Redd said. “But effective nonetheless — it’s going to be fun trying to take advantage of that as an offensive coach this year. He’s the most north-south runner (we’ve had). He’s a zone back — a one-cut, downhill running back.”
Jhalil Mosley, the Mustangs’ junior quarterback, rushed for 94 yards, picking up tough yards with several rugged runs between the tackles and a quarterback sneak for a TD. Through the air he completed just eight passes, but four of them found Denzel Terry’s hands, and three of those led to scores. Terry tied a school record with three touchdown catches on the night and registered 78 yards. Monticello piled up 414 yards of total offense.
Albemarle actually struck first on its second drive with a four-yard Niko Troche touchdown run on a 58-yard drive kickstarted by a roughing the passer call on the first play.
“I think our kids came out and they were pumped up and they did an excellent job — they executed very well,” said Albemarle coach Mike Alley. “But unfortunately some things kind of came apart and it was rough on them. We need to learn to bounce back from that.”
Monticello’s defense turned up the intensity after the initial score and while Albemarle managed 216 yards of total offense, they struggled to score again, finally breaking through in the fourth quarter on a Timmy Aker touchdown catch with less than seven minutes to play. By then the game was in-hand for the Mustangs.
Aker had 70 yards on six catches and running back Drake Bryant picked up 50 yards on 12 carries.
The Mustangs will host George Wythe next week, with a showdown against Goochland September 16 looming. The Patriots will start Commonwealth District play when they host Colonial Forge Friday.
