Louisa County didn’t get the kind of start it wanted last week against Powhatan.
That wasn’t a problem this week against Monticello.
Not when Austin Sims broke through and blocked a punt on the fourth play of the game and Derrick Barbour pounced on it for a touchdown.
“A defensive touchdown of any type is great but to start it off immediately with a punt block?” said Louisa’s Aaron Aponte. “That sets the tone for the entire game.”
The Lions rolled to a 42-28 win over the Mustangs, building a 42-7 advantage before inserting a pack of reserves. Monticello managed 21-straight points in the fourth to close the gap including one touchdown with 32 seconds left and another with nine seconds to go but the game was never in doubt.
A big reason the game was never in doubt was that the Lions never really lost the momentum that Sims’ block and Barbour’s recovery gave them.
“It was very important and we just needed the momentum,” Sims said. “It gave us a little juice, it pumped up the offensive line and the defense.”
Jarett Hunter, who rushed for a team-high 92 yards on just seven attempts, tacked on two scores sandwiched around a Robert Morgan touchdown, giving the Lions a 28-0 lead right at the start of the second quarter. Monticello got on the board with a Trenton Johnson touchdown catch, but Louisa answered late in the first half when Aponte scored on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Rob Allinder, his first score of the season. Aponte has been jammed several times on plays intended for him throughout the year.
“It felt good to finally get that completion because when I’ve gone out it’s been PI (pass interference) every single time,” Aponte said. “That was a great play call by coach, the route scheme was great, (Gabriel Cuozzo) had taken the safety across so it left me wide open.”
This time he leapt and snagged it in the back of the endzone, giving the Lions a 35-7 halftime lead in the process. From there, Louisa was able to work a pack of reserves into the mix, opening the door for a lot of players to contribute.
“It’s always fun when you can get out early and get a running clock going and let everybody have some fun,” said Louisa coach Will Patrick. “The kids who are backups come to practice and work their butt off every day just like the starters do so it’s nice to see them go out and play. That’s what it’s about.”
Eleven different players carried the ball on the night for the Lions while the defense played largely lights out with Brandon Smith, Sims, Aponte and Reginald Cosby combined at linebacker to keep Monticello off the scoreboard much of the night. The Mustangs did manage to move the ball a little bit, out gaining the Lions with the late surge 344-282 yards. The Lions’ defense stepped up when it counted in particularly, stuffing Monticello on three of the Mustangs’ five fourth down attempts and forcing three turnovers.
Monticello quarterback Malachi Fields with 233 yards 12-for-28 passing with one touchdown and two picks. He connected with Trenton Edwards 110 yards and two touchdown five catches.
Morgan scored twice for Louisa and had 54 yards on eight carries. Rob Allinder went 7-for-13 for 61 yards passing for Louisa, throwing the touchdown to Aponte to offset a pick by Monticello’s Chase Hummel.
The Lions will host Orange County in their traditional rivalry clash next week while Monticello travels to take on Powhatan.
