Monticello’s defense was looking for a little respect.
Aaron Dudley’s three fourth quarter interceptions and a big helping of pressure up the middle made sure the Mustangs got it in a 31-21 victory over Western Albemarle Friday night.
“I think we needed to (earn some respect) against one of the best offenses in Central Virginia, I have a lot of respect for them,” Dudley said. “We wanted to come out with a lot of power, we came out hard on them.”
Despite surrendering just 16.5 points on the year with nearly half of that coming in the fourth quarter in blowouts, nobody outside the Mustangs’ sideline had reason to have a great deal of confidence in the unit. The nearly 50-point per game offense got the bulk of the attention, and rightfully so in a lot of ways.
The Mustangs’ defense made a lot of folks believe Friday with a carefully crafted game plan that shared some similarities with what the No. 1 Mustangs (7-0) did against the No. 2 Warriors (6-1) in the 2012 playoffs — mainly unleashing the terror that is T.J. Tilley up the middle against the Western backfield to try and disrupt the prolific Western offense’s timing. On the back end, Dudley made play after play, with the school-record three picks, two of which setup the go-ahead and lead-extending scores down the stretch. Sean Means’ solo punt block, recovery and return for a touchdown in the game’s opening minute was a also a huge factor for Monticello early and energized the Mustangs’ efforts.
Tillery, fighting through a lower leg injury absorbed early in the game, reprised his role as Kent Henry’s disruptive menace, pressuring the Warriors’ quarterback into a lower-than-normal-completion percentage (11 of 27) while also reigning in Henry on the ground, as the Western quarterback managed just 22 yards, well off his 116.2 yards per game average.
“We didn’t get too high when we were doing well or too low when they were doing well,” said Monticello coach Jeff Woody. “The sooner that we can put kids in the right place at the right time, the better we’re going to be, and T.J. was a move that we made because of the quarterback (Henry) that we played. They’re a heck of a team and they played hard as well, but I’m happy for my guys.”
Woody heaped praise on the defensive staff, who put Dudley on Western’s Steven Hearn, the go-to receiver for the Warriors during the early stages of the season who was hobbled early in the clash by a hip pointer, and moved standout wideout Alex McNair to a deep safety type spot in certain situations.
“It’s difficult to completely stop an offense as potent as Western Albemarle, you kind of bend but don’t break,” Woody said. “But they did a great job of devising a plan and trying to put people in the right place to make plays. And pat number 9 (Dudley) on the back, I think the ball hit him in the hands three times and he came down with it every time.”
With all that disruption, Hearn’s impairment and an injury that took fellow wideout Nic Drapanas out of the game, Western couldn’t find an offensive rhythm.
“I tell people that offense is a game of flow and rhythm and when you don’t have certain guys in there it’s hard to get that flow because you don’t have the reps with those guys,” said Western coach Ed Redmond.
Henry still managed to finish with 170 yards and three touchdowns through the air (Chase Stokes, Tre Banks and Hearn each had a score), and he also hauled in an interception in the fourth quarter that seemed poised to give Western control of the game, up 21-17 with 11:07 to play. But Henry’s pass on the ensuing first down ricocheted off the intended wideout and Dudley managed to corral it before it hit the ground for his second pick.
That break seemed to shift the entire momentum of the game, and Monticello drove the 29 yards on eight plays with a one-yard James St. Hill plunge capping the drive and putting the Mustangs up 24-21with 8:19 left.
Western drove quickly to midfield on the next drive, but Dudley snuffed it out with his second interception, this one down the right sideline. Monticello’s offense responded again, eating three crucial minutes of clock with six runs and a pass interfence penalty to move 79 yards. T.J. Tillery pounded the ball in from 17 yards out for the lead-extending score. Dudley then picked off his third pass on the next drive to seal it for the Mustangs in an incredible fourth quarter performance.
Tillery finished with 163 yards on the ground and that score on 33 touches in a gritty, determined effort. James St. Hill went 12 for 20 for 222 yards, including an 89-yard bomb down the sideline to Josh Malm midway through the second quarter. Malm finished with 152 yards on five catches on the night.
The Mustangs don’t get much of a break as they leap into another cross-county rivalry clash with Albemarle next week while Western will try and get back on track against Charlottesville.
