As Monticello came out of a timeout facing fourth and five with under 3:30 to go in the fourth quarter, Western’s defense looked to make one of the night’s rare stops, and give its yard-churning offense the ball back with a one-point lead. Instead, Jhalil Mosley found Alex McNair along the left sideline for a 25-yard touchdown.
“We always think about what happened in the middle of the season, with the Western and CHS games,” said Monticello running back T.J. Tillery. “We used that to motivate us and keep us going.”
It was the battle everyone expected back in September and this time, in a Region II, Division 3 semifinal, Monticello got the better of the Warriors, atoning for their week six let-down with a 41-29 win over their cross-county rival.
“We just played about as bad as we could play offensively in the first game,” said Monticello coach Rodney Redd. “To be honest, [our gameplan] really did not change from the first game. It’s just a matter of execution.”
For most of the evening, ill-timed penalties and turnovers seemed to be the only things to foil the execution of either offense. The Warriors had to punt twice; and Monticello only once, early in the fourth quarter, on a drive stalled by a holding penalty. Western was flagged 10 times, including a pair of personal fouls costing the offense 30 yards and a chance for points just before halftime.
Western opened the game by driving 80 yards in 11 plays, with Kent Henry scoring on a 1-yard keeper. Monticello answered with a 73-yard drive, capped by a 49-yard T.J. Tillery touchdown on fourth and one. Western’s next possession stalled after a false start near midfield, and Monticello’s Morgan Wilson blocked a rugby-style punt. The Mustangs scored two plays later as Mosley found Alex McNair down the middle for a 45-yard touchdown.
Henry led the Warriors back by covering 80 yards in six plays, including a 41-yard completion to Nic Drapanas, before an 11-yard pass to Daniel Kuzjak tied the score at 14. Monticello’s third and final series of the first half also went the distance. Again facing a fourth down in Western territory, Mosley took off and raced in for a 32-yard touchdown to give the Mustangs a 21-14 lead at the break.
“Any time you’ve got a fourth and short situation, you get your defense on one level,” said Western coach Ed Redmond. “When the kid hits a seam and gets through there, there’s not much left. If you don’t find your right run fitter, and the kid runs through a tackle, long runs are going to happen.”
Monticello was poised to expand its lead on the first series of the third quarter after picking up 68 yards on four Tillery runs and a defensive facemask penalty. However, on first and goal, Monticello turned the ball over, and Western recovered at the 1. Later in the third, Tillery capped Monticello’s next drive with a spectacular 11-yard run, which appeared to end in a pile-up near the right hash, before he emerged and turned the corner on remaining defenders on the left side.
Down 28-14, the Warriors battled back as Henry hit Drapanas from 20 yards out to cap an 84-yard drive. On the conversion, Drapanas rose from the holder position and found Adam Phelps for two points on the fake PAT pass. Then, after forcing Monticello’s lone punt, Henry led the offense 77 yards in five plays, ending with a tremendous sliding catch of a 30-yard pass by Drapanas near the front corner of the endzone. Western claimed its first lead since the opening quarter, 29-28, with 9:49 remaining.
“I felt pretty comfortable our kids could move the ball down the field and score points,” said Redmond. “Our kids have a lot of will. They have a lot of grind in them. There’s no quit in those guys.”
Redd was even more emphatic.
“As long as number 16 [Henry] is still standing upright, Western still has a chance,” said Redd.
Monticello responded by mounting its best drive of the game: 13 plays, 65 yards, lasting 6:29. Mosley converted fourth and one near midfield with a five yard dash up the middle, and fourth and five at the Western 25 by hitting McNair for his second touchdown. Monticello led 34-29 after the two-point conversion failed.
With 3:20 still left on the clock, the Mustang defense rose up to slam the door. Senior Sam Marshall sacked Henry on first down. After two incompletions, Western opted to go for it on fourth and 12 from its own 24. Under pressure, Henry’s throw into triple coverage fell incomplete.
Western used its three timeouts as it forced a fourth and two for Monticello at the 16. But, for the fourth time in the game, the Mustangs found the endzone on fourth down as Tillery raced in for his third touchdown. And while the history of this rivalry includes Western’s “lonesome polecat” miracle (2003), there was nothing in the Warriors’ playbook to overcome a 12-point deficit in the final 1:27.
Western (10-2) outgained Monticello 456-382 in total offense. Henry finished 28 of 44 for 379 yards, with three touchdowns. Despite being sacked five times, he also totaled 64 yards rushing on 17 attempts, with one touchdown. Drapanas caught seven for 152 yards and two scores, both in the second half, while Kuzjak pulled in eight for 116 yards and one touchdown. For the Mustangs, Tillery rushed 30 times for 207 yards and three touchdowns, and recorded a sack on defense. Mosley was an efficient 9 of 12 passing for 134 yards and two touchdowns, both to Alex McNair, who caught four passes for 81 yards. Mosley added 41 yards on the ground and one score, as well as an interception playing in the defensive secondary.
Monticello (10-2) hosts Kettle Run (10-2) in the Region II, Division 3 final on Friday night.
