Unbeaten against William Monroe in 11 meetings, and winners all five in Stanardsville, Monticello hunkered down defensively in the second half to keep that streak in tact. After watching Monroe surge to tie the game in the last minutes of the first half, the Mustangs were able to hold the Greene Dragons to one score after that, and tack on three of its own to hang on for a 44-30 road win and lock up a Region II Division 3 home playoff game.
The Mustangs were up 16-0 in the second quarter on a Nick Kalinsky field goal, a 49-yard touchdown reception from Jhalil Mosley to Deno Robinson, and a 6-yard scoring run from Mosley when Monroe decided to make it a game.
Logan Forloines put the Dragons on the board with a 25-yard run and added a 2-point conversion with a runs from Doug Sizemore with 3:14 until the half. Just a little over a minute later, Forloines made it a one-possession game with a 40-yard run and another conversion, this time a Mitchell Morris pass to Zach Duprey.
Not to be outdone, Monticello running back Jesse Ayres answered 23 seconds later with a 57-yard scamper to put the Mustangs back on top. But with one second remaining, Morris hit Dakwan Morris on a 47-yard strike to tie the game at 23 heading into the break.
Isaac Robinson had the only points in the third quarter, and his 17-yard rushing touchdown gave Monticello the lead back. Early in the fourth, Mosley tore loose on a 73-yard run, and with 1:17 to play, he hit Tyson Wachenheim on a 32-yard pass to give Monticello some breathing room with a 21-point lead. Forloines’ 1-yard run with 30 seconds left in the game were the Dragons only points of the second half.
Monroe’s junior running back led all runners with 130 yards on 21 carries. But between Ayres, Mosley and Robinson, the Mustangs had 266 rushing yards with Ayres ammasing 112 on 16 attempts, Mosley netting 111 on nine carries, and Robinson gaining 43 out his 10 tries.
Mosley was 11 for 18 passing with 228 yards and two touchdowns. Deno Robinson led all receivers with his three catches for 82 yards, but Wachenheim wasn’t far behind churning 71 yards out of his two catches. Tyler Money Maker had five receptions and 62 yards.
For Monroe, Morris was 14 for 24 passing with 160 yards. Dawkan Morris had one catch for 47 yards. Sizemore had two receptions for 34 yards and Adam Weisenborn had 32 yards on a game high four catches.
Monroe (3-7) finishes just outside of the playoffs.
Monticello (6-4) is the fourth seed in the Region II Division 3 tournament and will likely welcome Goochland at home on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Mustangs topped the Bulldogs on the road in the regular season with a dramatic come-from-behind win on a 2-point Mosley conversion in the last moments of the game, 29-28.
