By Logan Riddick / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Three weeks after a last-play touchdown via a deflected pass spoiled an upset bid at home against Western, Albemarle’s student body celebrated a win over top-ranked Monticello by rushing the field on the road.
“I mean, nobody believed in us that we would win this game, but we knew we were going to win it from Monday when we started practicing,” said Albemarle senior running back Dominique Talley. “It took a complete team effort. Intensity and heart won this game.”
The Patriots, now winners of three straight, snapped a six-year losing streak in the rivalry with Monticello, and handed coach Jeff Woody his first defeat since the year 2010.
“We can’t continue to make mistakes like this against a good football team and expect to win,” said Woody. “Whether it be penalties, bad snaps, bad play calls, whatever you want to call it. We came out flat and we can’t come out in the playoffs or these last two games and expect to win if we make mistakes like we made.”
Albemarle never trailed in the game and built an early lead by taking both of its first quarter possessions for touchdowns. The Patriots opened with an impressive 9-play, 69-yard drive, led by Dominique Talley who took the first handoff for 20 yards and, later, a pass from D.G. Archer for 20 more into the red zone. Senior running back Drake Bryant converted a fourth and one, and then scored from four yards out. After quickly forcing a Monticello punt, Albemarle drove 94 yards in seven plays, sparked by senior Kevin Bernadino’s 60-yard catch-and-run on a slant on third and 14 from the 2, which immediately followed an illegal formation penalty that wiped out another long pass play to Bernadino.
“We wanted to make sure we didn’t make any mistakes, so we did call a timeout,” said Albemarle coach Mike Alley. “We just wanted to plan it out and make sure we had the right call. The one thing coach [Shafer] and I go over together is that for every play, you want to have a counter.”
Archer hit Brandon Haney for an 18-yard score to open a 14-0 lead. Monticello finally awoke with a 63-yard touchdown drive consisting of four rushing plays; Tyler Wagner covered 47 in one play while T.J. Tillery picked up the rest, including the score from two yards. Michael Booth halted the Patriots’ next series early in the second quarter with an interception near midfield. On the ensuing play, the Mustang offense dipped into its bag of tricks as Darian Bates found Josh Malm for a 46-yard touchdown on a halfback pass to tie the game at 14.
“When they tied it up, our kids could have given up and just said, ‘Hey, it’s another game,’ and just try to hang in, but they didn’t” said Alley. “They really wanted to win this game. They were saying to each other, ‘We have the will to win this,’ and they went out there and did it.”
The teams exchanged punts as errant shotgun snaps put both offenses behind the chains. Albemarle mounted the next red zone drive thanks to a 35-yard scamper by Bernadino, but a Sean Means disrupted the momentum and the Patriots turned it over own downs at the 10. Monticello then mounted a 17-play, 82-yard drive, with a pair of fourth down conversions; however, Bernadino prevented any points when he picked off James St. Hill in the endzone with 10 seconds left in the half.
“At halftime, one of the coaches came up and said, ‘We need to give Kevin a break. He’s playing both ways full time,’” said Alley. “I just told the coach, ‘Kevin’s a senior. He wants this game probably worse than anyone out here,’ and I think he showed that tonight.”
As the temperature dipped into the 30s during the second half, wild snaps and dropped balls continued to thwart Monticello’s offense. The Patriots’ defensive line also won the line of scrimmage more often than any other team to face Monticello this season. Midway through the third quarter, Tillery was stopped for a loss in the backfield on fourth and a half-yard near the Albemarle 20. After Malm picked off Albemarle’s attempted halfback pass on a third and long, a bad snap cost the Mustang offense 20 yards after it had crossed midfield. Cameron Green then intercepted St. Hill on third and long. Albemarle converted that into points with Talley’s 31-yard run down the right sideline, good for a 21-14 lead entering the fourth.
“They placed everyone in a box, so we started trying to run plays where we could break him off,” Alley said. “He did a nice job looking to go inside and then cutting it outside. When we would run toss, he would cut it back inside. He read very well tonight.”
Monticello responded with a 60-yard drive, helped by 30 yards in third down penalties. Tillery found space on the right side on three straight runs, including the 5-yard touchdown to pull within one. However, the extra point attempt sailed wide left, leaving Albemarle on top with 9:32 left.
The Patriots effectively worked the clock on their next two series with Talley moving the ball on the ground. After a punt with 2:40 to play, Monticello took over at its own 19. St. Hill converted fourth and three with a pass to Malm with 1:50 left, but then the Albemarle defensive front teed off. St. Hill was sacked on three of the next four plays, resulting in a turnover on downs. With the Mustangs out of timeouts, Albemarle could kneel in victory formation and claim the 21-20 victory.
“Coach Gallagher did a great job there,” said Alley. “He knew they had to throw the ball. He was going to let them throw underneath, put pressure on them, and did a great job.”
Talley posted a game-high 149 yards on 25 rushes, while Tillery’s 25 attempts netted 124 yards. Tyler Wagner added 99 yards on eight carries, but Monticello finished with a season-low 190 yards on the ground. Archer went 10-for-16 for 187 yards, while St. Hill tallied 73 yards completing 9 of 21 pass attempts.
“They’re fast on defense, they’re physical up front, they’ve got some size up front, and they were able to push us around a little bit and control the trenches,” Woody said. “They had a good solid scheme. We had some opportunities that we missed. We saw some holes in the coverage and, at the same time, St. Hill was getting pressure and it made it difficult for him to step up in the pocket and deliver a good throw. It’s all Albemarle playing good football.”
Albemarle (5-3) will look to extend its winning streak when its hosts Louisa (3-5) next week and continue to push toward its first home playoff game since the 90s in the 5A North bracket. With the loss dropping them four spots in the 3A West standings, Monticello (7-1) hits the road to face Orange County (1-7).
