You can try and cut it up any different number of ways. Maybe Louisa had not been playing its best the previous six weeks. Maybe Monticello just didn’t have its best. Or maybe everything just lined up right for the Lions on a night that was truly about coach Mark Fischer, his family, his players. What was supposed to be the game of the year in the Jefferson District on paper with two unbeaten teams meeting up this late in the season turned out to be all about Louisa. With two weeks left in the regular season, the Lions made something known on Friday against a team that was averaging just under 50 points a game — this Louisa team is as good as it wants to be and the other side is helpless when this team has it all together. In a 62-21 game that was essentially over less than midway through the second quarter, the Lions showed they are not messing around.
“The kids just came out and executed and didn’t make mistakes,” Fischer said. “The past two games we haven’t had that kind of first quarter boosts. We just came out like a buzzsaw.”
After winning the coin toss, the Lions elected to receive and senior running back Job Whalen got The Jungle riled up early with his 33-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive. After a failed onside attempt, Monticello got the ball with a short field, capitalized on a pair of penalties and saw Jerrick Ayers score on a 5-yard run. For two 6-0 squads, all seemed about right.
“They score and then we score so I just thought it’d be one of those types of ballgames,” said Monticello coach Jeff Lloyd.
But then Whalen broke off a 52-yard run less than a minute later And after a 3-and-out stop by the Lions defense, it was senior quarterback Malik Bell with a 41-yard dash into the endzone. And it just snowballed from there. Raquan Jones came up with a fumble recovery on the next Monticello possession. That led to Bell connecting on a pass off a run-fake for 48 yards and it was 28-7 with 54 seconds left in the first.
“This was about coach Fischer so it was an emotional night,” Whalen said. “We came out here and wanted to make a statement to the district but also to the state. We came out and we got the job done.”
Monticello moved the chains a few times on its next drive but the Louisa defense came up with a turnover on downs at its own 38-yard line. That set up a lengthy drive capped by Bell with an 11-yard rushing touchdown. After another punt, it was Whalen with 17-yard scoring run. The Mustangs fumbled the ensuing kickoff and then Jones broke off a 40-yard run to set up first and goal before he finished the job himself with a 3-yard scamper across the goalline.
“It was 21-7 and then we have the turnover and it goes to hell in a hand cart after that,” Lloyd said. “They’re really good and their size — I think you see it on the offensive and defensive lines. We’re just not that big and we paid the price for that tonight.”
With 6:50 left in the second quarter it was 48-7. It was just one of those nights.
“I think people underrate us for really what we are,” said Louisa lineman Shaun Brown. “We just have to keep striving in practice.”
The rest of the game was on auto-pilot with a running clock. The Lions got another 3-yard rushing TD from Jone in the third quarter and wrapped up their scoring early in the fourth with a 1-yard QB keeper from Jarrett Hunter to make it 62-7. Monticello broke the 55-0 streak when Jarrell picked up a 9-yard rushing touchdown with 7:38 to end his night. Then second string quarterback Dylan Booth hit Austin Haverstrom with a 75-yard touchdown reception to make it a more respectable 62-21 with 3:35 to go.
“I told them at halftime that I didn’t care what the scoreboard said because we don’t have to play them again but we do have to finish out the year,” Lloyd said. “We’ve still got a chance to finish up 9-1 and that’s a big difference from a year ago.”
On the night Whalen led all rushers with his 187 yards on just 12 touches. Bell finished with 11 touches for 129 yards and another 58 yards in the air. Jones had 10 touches for 76 yards.
For Monticello, Jarrell was 9-for-24 passing with 80 yards and had 12 carries for 54 yards.
The Lions had 599 yards of offense to the Mustangs’ 275. Louisa had no turnovers and converted their only fourth down attempt while Monticello had a pair of fumbles and was 0-for-1 on fourth down.
Louisa (7-0) will travel to Orange County (4-3) next week while Monticello (6-1) plays host to Charlottesville (5-2).
