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Monticello rumbles past Cesar Chavez

Photo: Ashley Thornton

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It was a long first quarter, and not just because it felt that way because of the heat. No, it was literally a 48-minute frame that saw Monticello race out in front of Cesar Chavez (DC). Yes there are a lot of new moving parts for the Mustangs this year, but with a 55-0 routing of the Eagles, Monticello took a big step forward after last week’s scrimmage with Heritage.

 

“We had preached all week about being more physical because last week Heritage just out-toughed us,” said Monticello coach Jeff Lloyd. “It’s hard for a team to come down here from DC and play a game like this and they played hard but I was proud of our kids tonight. It’s a step in the right direction. All-in-all a good way to start the year.”

 

The Mustangs got off to a bit of a clumsy start when they fumbled the opening kickoff to give Chavez great field position. However, the defense drove the Eagles out of the red zone and forced a punt to nix that problem. When Monticello got the ball back, quarterback Kevin Jarrell and running back Jerrick Ayers marched the Mustangs down field for a 75-yard scoring drive capped by a 7-yard scamper from Ayers.

 

“I just want to thank the O-line for tonight to be honest,” Ayers said. “All these touchdowns and yards, you just have to thank them for that.”

 

Monticello piled up the yardage on the ground in the first half with relative ease. The next Mustangs drive was capped with a 21-yard touchdown run from Ayers. Austin Haverstrom then came up with an interception on the ensuing Eagles drive and just a few plays later, Jarrell plunged through the goalline with a 2-yard run to make it 21-0 with 2:16 still to play in the first. Just before the frame finally ended, the Mustangs got the ball back off fumble recovered by Ben Riley.

 

To open up the second, Jarrell found Riley for a 57-yard bomb to set up first and goal. Reid Huffman finished off the drive with a 1-yard rush and it was 28-0 with a long way to go until halftime. When Logan Snoddy came up with a fumble recovery just 35 second later, that allowed the Mustangs to go on another long drive with Jarrell getting the job done with his legs, and eventually scoring on a 1-yard rush getting his team a 35-0 lead to set up a running clock for the second half.

 

“I think guys got a little more comfortable on offense and defense,” Jarrell said. “I think this experience is going to help us at the end of the season. A lot of different guys got a lot of reps. This was great.”

 

From there, the Mustangs rotated through their starters and substitutions, getting second stringers a handful of drives to gain confidence. Monticello got three more touchdown drives in the second half. Jarrell broke off a 41-yard run to set up a 1-yard touchdown run for Ayers late in the third. Then a Tre Chapman interception led to a 5-yard touchdown run from backup quarterback Kobi Copeland. And lastly, Spencer Brookman made it 55-0 late in the fourth on a 11-yard touchdown run to wrap up the win.

 

“I think the key (going forward) is to keep pushing ourselves,” Ayers said. “It’s to run and run, play after play.”

 

On the night, Monticello put up 435 yards of offense and averaged 8.5 yards per play. The defense, which gave up 178 yards managed to tighten up the few occasions that Chavez got deep in Mustangs territory, thus preserving the shutout.

 

Jarrell was 6-for-13 passing with 140 yards and no interceptions to go with his 12-rush 125-yard and 3-TD evening on the ground. Ayers, who played sparingly, finished with eight touches for 109 yards and three touchdowns. Riley led the way receiving with three catches for 94 yards, a busy day for someone who played on both sides of the ball.

 

“Riley played very well and he’s one of those seniors that was a backup a year ago and we have a lot of those on this team,” Lloyd said. “It was good to see those guys step in and play well.”

 

Monticello gets a bye week before hosting Turner Ashby on September 9 at 7:30 p.m.

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