Last week against powerhouse Lake Taylor, Monticello hung tough in the first half but faltered in the second half.
This week, it was Monticello that finished strong.
A huge fourth quarter surge lifted the Mustangs to a 40-30 victory over Turner Ashby as Monticello reeled off three touchdowns in the final six minutes to turn a 30-19 deficit with 8:12 to play into a 10-point victory.
Darian Bates scored two of those touchdowns in the fourth, the first on a 4-yard pass from quarterback Kevin Jarrell and the second from 30 yards out with 1:26 to play to extend the Western lead to 10 points. In between those two scores, Jarrell sprinted in from 18 yards out for what became the game-winning touchdown.
Bates finished with 108 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and another 26 yards and the late touchdown receiving. Jarrell had a huge night statistically with 140 yards and a score through the air to go with 127 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Both standouts averaged more than seven yards per carry.
Seth Weaver’s 66 yards on four catches set the pace for the Monticello receivers. Defensively, Braxton Clay picked off a pair of passes for the Mustangs on back-to-back drives to start the third quarter. The first led to Jarrell’s first rushing touchdown while the second setup Bates’ 7-yard touchdown that put Monticello up 19-8 with 7:41 left in the third.
Turner Ashby got rolling shortly after that with three straight touchdowns by Cody Warner, the first from 64 yards out. He finished with 134 yards and four scores on the ground and 37 receiving yards on two catches to handle the vast majority of the Turner Ashby offense.
But even with an 11-point lead the Knights couldn’t hang on and Monticello snagged its first victory of the season. The Mustangs will look to move above .500 Friday on the road at Spotswood.
