It’s clear that Monticello’s playoff fortune will be inextricably linked to the performance of senior T.J. Tillery.
“He’s a horse, and we’re going to put it on his shoulders and he’s going to carry us,” said Monticello coach Jeff Woody. “[Campbell County Schools Superintendent] Bobby Johnson coached me in high school and he said to me, ‘It doesn’t matter if the horse is blind, you keep loading the wagon,’ for whatever that means. When T.J. gets hot, he’s one of the best I’ve ever coached.”
Tillery clearly, is ready to carry the load. On Friday night in No.6-seeded Monticello’s 35-28 victory over Rustburg in the 3A West playoffs, he set a career-best mark for the third straight week with 245 yards and four touchdowns against the Red Devils
“Thirty-eight carries is a load, but I love when I hear my number,” said Tillery. “They were doing different stuff than we thought they were going to do up front. The offensive line did a great job adjusting, and then holes just started opening up.”
On the other side, Randall Jones and quarterback Anthony Lovelace spearheaded a formidable rushing attack for the 11th-seeded Red Devils. It took a goal line stand midway through the fourth quarter and a sack on the game’s final play for the Mustangs to secure the win.
“Ultimately, these guys came together tonight,” Woody said. “When they got squeezed, they showed up and played like men.”
Rustburg made clear it would be no first-round pushover with a pair of first quarter touchdowns. The Red Devils received the opening kickoff and drove 67 yards in ten plays, including conversions on third and nine and fourth and three, before Jones scored on a 17-yard run. Later in the quarter, Rustburg quickly covered 73 yards in seven plays, with Jones and Lovelace each breaking runs over 20 yards. Jones notched his second touchdown from two yards out.
Monticello drove the field on its first possession behind Tillery’s seven carries for 58 yards. He broke a 33-yarder to convert on third and four, and scored from two yards out on third and goal. Trailing 14-7 in the second quarter, Monticello started its next successful drive with eight running plays involving Tillery as well as Darian Bates, Tyler Wagner, and quarterback James St. Hill. After a Rustburg timeout, St. Hill completed a deep pass to Alex McNair, who used his height advantage over the Red Devils’ secondary to secure the 32-yard touchdown.
The Mustangs’ defense then came up with a big red zone stop on fourth and four, and the offense took most of the time left in the half to drive 82 yards. On the 13th play, Tillery barreled in from a yard out, giving Monticello its first lead, 21-14, heading into the break.
Monticello received the third quarter kickoff, and Tillery quickly added to his highlight reel. On the series’ first play, he raced 37 yards on a screen pass; four plays later, he broke a run 21 yards for his third score. It was the third straight touchdown for Monticello, which opened a 28-14 lead.
However, Rustburg answered as the teams exchanged scores throughout the quarter. Lovelace returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to the Monticello 29; six plays later, he went six yards on a keeper for the Red Devils’ first score since late in the first quarter.
As the rain picked up, Tillery capped the Mustangs’ next 68-yard drive with a 31-yard touchdown run. Rustburg came back with a 65-yard drive featuring three big plays; first, on third and seven from his own 38, Lovelace scrambled out of trouble and reversed field to pick up a first down at the 45. After a holding penalty and sack setup third and 25, Lovelace hit Thacker deep for a gain of 35. Finally, two plays later, Lovelace hit Thacker again for a 32-yard touchdown, pulling within 35-28 with 1:06 left in the third.
“We’ve got to get better at third and thirties,” said Woody. “We didn’t expect five to be able to throw the ball so well. I’ve coached against him for the past three years and never saw him as a throwing threat. When you load the box to stop [Lovelace] and [Jones]’s running ability that leaves you susceptible from time to time.”
It looked like Rustburg would be able to pull even after Thacker intercepted St. Hill’s deep pass on the last play of the quarter. After an offensive interference penalty backed them up, Lovelace completed another deep pass to tight end Will Morris for 31 yards.
Lovelace converted fourth-and-six with a 13-yard run to setup first and goal inside the 10. However, the defense mounted a successful four-play stand, capped by Zack Graves tackling Lovelace for a six-yard loss on fourth and goal from the 1 to preserve the lead. Monticello took more than four minutes off the clock as Tillery ran seven straight plays for 39 yards; however, Rustburg stopped Tyler Wagner on third and two near midfield.
Daniel Hummel’s 41-yard punt pinned the Red Devils at their own 14 with 3:38 to play, and Aaron Dudley stepped in front of Lovelace’s first down target down the left sideline and pulled down a big interception. Tillery rushed four times to take the clock inside one minute; however, Rustburg’s special teams blocked a potentially game-sealing 21-yard field goal attempt. Lovelace advanced the offense from its own 22 to the Monticello 40 in 42 seconds with scrambles and passes to Thacker; however, with 7.7 seconds left and no timeouts, Sean Means sacked Lovelace near midfield to end the game before he could air out another deep ball.
“We as an offense need to make sure we take advantage of the opportunities the defense presents us,” said Woody. “We didn’t on the last drive, and that could have sealed it. Instead, we all have more gray hair because of it.”
Lovelace led Rustburg with 98 yards on 25 rushes. He added 173 yards through the air, completing 9 of 13 attempts. Jones posted 90 yards on 24 carries, and Thacker made five receptions for 98 yards. Behind Tillery, Bates went for 27 yards on five attempts. St. Hill finished 7 of 9 passing for 127 yards, with McNair catching five for 91 yards.
Monticello (10-1) will travel to Roanoke to play third-seeded Northside (10-1) in the second round of the 3A West playoffs next week.
