It was a night for record-book updating as Monticello delivered a 48-19 victory over Fluvanna County before an energetic and neon-clad Homecoming Game crowd.
First and foremost, the win put an end to the longest losing streak in program history at 15 games. But after taking on a stout non-district slate and then starting Jefferson District play against Albemarle and Louisa (whose combined records stand at 11-1), head coach Matt Hicks felt his team had been on track for a breakthrough.
“We have been making incremental improvements throughout the year, and we just kept explaining to our guys that we were playing some amazing football teams early in the season,” said Hicks. “All of this stuff happens on Monday through Thursday. As we started to get more consistent effort, buy-in, and participation in that, we were able to really see some special things, in glimpses, over the last couple games. It was so exciting to see our guys be successful and put on a show for their home fans tonight.”
The Mustangs scored touchdowns on their first five possessions and did not punt all night. Senior quarterback Matt Dixon tossed five touchdown passes to tie Joe Sanford’s school record, set in a 35-33 win over Poquoson in a 2003 Division 3 state semifinal. When sophomore Owen Engel added another as reserves saw action in the fourth quarter, it surpassed the 19-year old team mark.
“It was just reading the defense, honestly,” said Dixon, who completed 12-of-15 passes for 172 yards with no interceptions. “We really worked during practice of going through progressions, pre-snap reads. We went to Louisa and had a lot of bright spots, so we built off that and this is what it led to.”
The defense got things started on the right track for Monticello with a 13-yard sack to thwart Fluvanna’s opening possession of the game.
“We were preaching that we had to get a stop to start the game to really set up the whole game for us, and then it did,” Dixon said.
After a punt, Monticello’s offense started at its own 26. Dixon hit senior tight end Jacob Messinger on back-to-back passes to convert third-and-7 and cross into Fluco territory. After a holding flag pushed them back, Dixon uncorked a deep pass down the right side to junior receiver Brandon Herring, who made the catch and outran the secondary for a 56-yard score. The pair connected again in the final minute of the second quarter on a 20-yard pass that Herring scooped just above the turf as he rolled over the goal line.
A false start penalty derailed Fluvanna’s second possession by turning third-and-4 into third-and-9. Sophomore quarterback Camdyn Via tossed his only complete pass of the first half to Isaac Lewis, but the Mustang defense was all over the running back in the flat for a loss of a yard. Via’s ensuing punt caromed off the back of a blocker, yielding a 6-yard result. Monticello took over at the Fluco 32 where Dixon narrowly avoided disaster as he was flagged for intentional grounding while being sacked 14 yards in the backfield on a pass that appeared to be thrown backward. Senior running back Selorm Kartey regained the lost ground by breaking a 19-yard run, compounded by a Fluvanna personal foul. Six plays later, as the drive stretched into the second quarter, DIxon fired to sophomore D’Rhon Jackson for a 6-yard touchdown to make it 13-0.
Fluvanna responded with its best drive of the night. The Flucos marched 76 yards in 15 plays, all of which were runs, lasting nearly eight minutes. Critically, Lewis took a pitch and raced around the left end to pick up 8 yards on fourth-and-4. After a false start, which was Fluvanna’s fourth flag of the series, Richard Price ran in from 11 yards out to make it 13-7 with 2:43 left in the half.
After the second Dixon-to-Herring score made it 21-7 at the break, the Mustangs received the third quarter kickoff and got a 26-yard return from senior Chris Carter to set up the offense at midfield. After a Messinger 15-yard reception to get started, Kartey covered the next 35 on the ground. His 8-yard run made it 27-7.
“It was about consistent effort,” said Kartey, who finished with 125 yards on 17 carries, both game-highs. “We’ve been putting it in all week since the Louisa game where we saw glimpses of it. We just grinded on that and we knew this was our last homecoming game so we had to do something tonight.”
Fluvanna’s first possession of the second half ended abruptly with a fumbled third-down exchange. Monticello again took advantage of excellent field position as Dixon found Jackson for a 2-yard touchdown, his second of the night, to make it 34-7 midway through the period.
“Our Mustang Maniacs really showed out for our school tonight and brought so much energy that kept us going,” said Hicks. “Today was the first true pep rally since I’ve been here. For our seniors, it’s a unique experience.”
But the Flucos did not roll over. The offense drove 66 yards in eight plays, capped by a 8-yard touchdown run by senior Jacob Morris. Thanks to an unsportsmanlike flag on Monticello, the ensuing kickoff was set at the MHS 45, where the Flucos executed a successful onside kick. Five plays later, senior fullback Clayton Cannady rumbled 10 yards and recovered his own fumble in the endzone, pulling Fluvanna within 34-19 with 11:24 to play.
The party on the home side chilled a bit after Monticello recovered the ensuing onside kick but fumbled on the next offensive snap. However, the defense snapped out of the funk, forcing a turnover-on-downs in four plays.
“[Fluvanna is] a very well-coached team and they really pressed us during that time,” said Hicks. “We were preaching to our guys throughout that to keep your composure, keep your positivity, and just keep doing what you’re supposed to be doing. There have times this season where negative plays have happened and we let them compound and get to us. I thought they did a fine job of that as we shook off that bad exchange for those four plays.”
The offense then put the game on ice, driving 45 yards in five plays, capped by Dixon’s fifth touchdown pass, a 12-yard shovel to Elijah Fields.
“The fans kept up the energy and they kept us in it, even when we had some rough spots,” Dixon said.
With reserves seeing action down the stretch, Engel spelled Dixon for the Mustangs’ final possession, Propelled by a couple of lateral swings to Tre Early and Ezekiel Pour, Engel capped the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Juelz Christmas-Jackson.
Morris led the Flucos with 76 yards on 15 carries. Lewis added 72 yards on nine rushes. Via completed 4-of-9 passes for 18 yards.
Fluvanna County (0-6, 0-3) returns home next Friday to host Orange County (4-1, 1-1). Monticello (1-5, 1-2) heads to Goochland (2-4, 2-1) as the Bulldogs look to extend their midseason revival with a third-straight Jefferson District victory.
