It went back and forth for all 48 minutes. In fact, only once it wasn’t a trade of one touchdown for Monticello to one for Louisa County. After Mustangs running back TJ Tillery scored in the third quarter and Monticello quarterback Jhalil Mosley punched in another score in the fourth, it was a two-possession game. But thanks to a late pass from Zack Jackson to Peanut Johnson the Lions were able to get to within a score.
However, with a pair of first downs to finish out the last three minutes of play, the Mustangs left Mineral with an unblemished record as they survived, 34-27.
“It wasn’t a surprise that we were going to be in a dogfight,” said Monticello coach Rodney Redd. “We’ve been in that situation in three of our four games and that’s a testament to the quality of our opponents. (The) kids handled it well … the coaching staff handled it well and did what we needed to do to ice the game.”
The Lions overcame a tough ending in the first half. Trailing by two with the clock running down, Louisa got on the edge of the redzone but a quarterback hurry turned into an interception with Monticello’s Jhalil Mosley picking off a pass. Mosley promptly took it to the house for 82 yards with time expiring to make it 20-12 going into the break.
“I saw their running back peep out of the backside,” Mosley said. “I saw Zack staring him down so I dropped back and made a play for six. It was big getting that and going into halftime.”
Jackson rebounded though by marching his team down the field in the third quarter and scoring on a 20-yard run wheremtcf he dodged two tacklers and trampled another. After he punched in the 2-point conversion the game was tied at 20.
“There’s not a player on this team that knows how to quit,” said Louisa coach Jon Meeks. “(Jackson) he gives me everything he has on every play and on top of that he’s a great kid, a 4.0 GPA kid, a ‘yes sir, no sir’ kid and he’ll fight to the end and doesn’t care what the scoreboard says. I always know what I’m getting from Zack Jackson.”
But Monticello did not have to panic. On the very next play from scrimmage, Tillery picked up his third rushing touchdown of the game, this one his longest of the night for 67 yards.
“That zone you, have to sit behind it and read it,” Tillery said. “I looked behind it and when the ball was snapped I said in my head that that was going to be a touchdown. I was able to read, went backside and was gone. The linemen blocked their butts off and did it all night. I’ve got to give all the props to them. I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without them.”
Tillery had a big night overall, finishing with 198 yards on 21 carries. Early in the fourth quarter, Monticello was able to go up 34-20 thanks to a 14-yard quarterback keeper from Mosley.
Louisa was able to make it interesting quickly again though with Jackson and running back Markel Groomes running the ball down field. The Lions’ passing attack finally came through with a big play with 3:23 to go when Jackson rolled out of the pocket and found Johnson in a crowded endzone to make it a 7-point game.
Monticello took the ensuing kickoff and picked up one first down on a pass interference, then ran the ball for another that had to be measured before finally being able to kneel the ball and run out the clock.
In the first quarter Monticello worked to a 14-6 advantage thanks to 32-yard and 17-yard touchdown runs from Tillery while Jackson had a 2-yard rushing score sandwiched in between.
Things took a scary turn in the second quarter when Deon Johnson, one of the area’s top receivers through four weeks of play, went down and was unable to move. The junior was taken to University of Virginia hospital for precautions, but after the game word came back to Mineral that Johnson had regained mobility and most likely suffered a stinger.
“We’ve gone through massive injuries and lost another today in Deon Johnson, and that’s a tough one because he’s a captain, a real leader and just who he is overall,” Meeks said. “But the guys didn’t quit after that and that’s why I love them.”
In the second, Louisa rallied to make it a 2-point game on a 15-yard rushing touchdown from Jackson. He finished the game with 152 yards on 28 carries and three scores.
For the first time ever, Monticello (4-0, 1-0 Jefferson District) will face Western Albemarle in a game where both teams are unbeaten. That game will be in Crozet on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The Lions (2-3, 0-1) will look to rebound by jumping back out of district with a road trip to South Lakes on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
