Spotswood’s offense has made its presence known on this side of the mountains the last three weeks, with Monticello running into the buzzsaw this week.
The Blazers capped a three-game tour of Scrimmage Play area teams with a 44-7 win over the Mustangs, piling up 521 yards of total offense including 365 on the ground.
Monticello responded early to Spotswood’s Ethan Barnhart’s 80-yard touchdown run in the early stages of the game. The Mustangs’ Phillip Estes scored on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Malachi Fields to even the game at 7-7 with 4:34 left in the first quarter. But from there it was all Spotswood as the Blazers built a 31-7 halftime lead with an explosive finish.
Barnhart, who has already crossed the 1,000-yard mark in just four games, rushed for 273 yards and four touchdowns on 14 touches at a clip of 19.5 yards per carry. The Blazers also got a solid performance from Ryan High who went 8-for-16 for 135 yards and a touchdown.
Fields led Monticello with 69 yards through the air on 9-for-14 passing, but the ground game struggled, mustering just 10 total yards on 18 carries. Fields also caught a couple of balls as a receiver from backup Chase Hummel and gained 29 yards on those two catches. Tony Frazier’s interception was also a bright spot for the Mustangs.
Monticello will now enter Jefferson District play with a rivalry clash at home for homecoming against Western Albemarle next week to start the district slate.