After trailing by three touchdowns and being shutout in the first half only to come back and take the lead on a perfectly executed late fourth quarter drive and gutsy 2-point conversion, Monticello lineman Brandon Seay’s aside to a teammate on the sidelines summed it all up.
“Man, I am definitely getting to church on Sunday,” Seay said. “This is too crazy.”
The hole was deep enough that nearly everything had to fall exactly in place for Monticello to pull out a miracle win on the road against Goochland, and that’s exactly what happened as running back Jesse Ayres went off in the second half and sophomore quarterback Jhalil Mosley played beyond his years to set up the last score of the game in the Mustangs 29-28 victory.
“It was a great gut check for our kids,” said Monticello coach Brud Bicknell. “We got totally out-played in the first half, and to come back and play like that, all the credit goes to (the players).”
After getting shredded by Goochland running backs Dustin Plummer and David McKenna in the first half to the tune of 21 points and more than 200 yards as McKenna needed to be gang tackled on runs up the middle and the now healthy Plummer was a blur when hitting the edge of the field.
The two were effective enough that Monticello attempted an onside kick to start the third quarter. The decision paid off as they recovered and Ayres started piling up 10-yard gains to march down the field to cut the Goochland lead to 14.
“In the second half the line started to really do their jobs,” Ayres said. “But I also I started to take a half step back before going forward like my coaches told me, and it opened up the field a lot more. I was able to see a lot better.”
Plummer pushed the lead back to 21 points when he answered with a 58-yard run to the outside. Late in the third quarter, Goochland looked poised to make it a 28-point deficit, again behind its tailbacks, but the Bulldogs dropped back to throw for just the second time and for the first time in the game Monticello was able to keep Goochland from scoring as Denzel Terry came up with an interception.
The defensive stop was a shot of adrenaline to Mustangs offense. Just before the end of the quarter, Ayres, who’s number was called all night and got better as the game unfolded, ran for his second score of the night, a 12-yarder to make it 28-14.
After dominating the the Monticello defense for the first three quarters, the Goochland offense ground to a halt in the fourth as they turned the ball over on downs early in the final frame. With Ayres and Isaac Robinson driving the Mustangs into scoring position, Monticello aired it out to try and catch Goochland off guard. The result was a 29-yard touchdown reception from Mosley to Tyler Moneymaker, making the difference on the scoreboard just one possession.
The Bulldogs drove down the field on their ensuing possession all the way to the Mustangs’ 33-yard line, but rather than attempt a 50-yard field goal with All-Region II kicker Colby Cooke, Goochland went for it on fourth and long was came up short.
With 2:54 to play, Ayres resumed barreling through the Bulldog defense, but facing a critical third down at midfield, Deno Robinson came up with the catch of the game when he hauled in a 30-yard pass that was well out of bounds, but Robinson reached out, brought the ball into his chest and tapped one foot inbounds as he flew out of play. From there, Ayres handled the rest and punched in his third touchdown on a 1-yard run. With Goochland still up by one, Bicknell put it all on the line.
“We’re kind of of that cliché that on the road you go for the win,” Bicknell said. “They played in triple-overtime last week and were real efficient in that so we felt our best shot was to for two.”
Out of the shotgun, Mosley immediately ran to the right side of the field, pump faked, and dove as he was being tackled, just squeezing the ball over the goalline and knocking over the pylon.
“I was running out and (linebacker Nathan Adams) was playing a good game and being aggressive so I threw him a pump,” Mosley said. “Then I just kept running and was able to dive in.”
With 24 seconds, Goochland got a chance to answer back, but could only get to midfield before time expired.
“We’re not able to close the deal right now,” said Bulldogs coach Joe Fowler. “We’re doing everything we can, players, coaches and everything else and things aren’t going our way.”
For the second straight week, the Bulldogs had their hearts slowly and painfully ripped out, but nonetheless, still have plenty to play for.
“I told (the team) to give everything they have in these next four weeks,” Fowler said. “We can still make the playoffs and maybe things will go our way and we can get a chance to play Monticello again and correct our mistakes.”
This was the first time since 2002 against Courtland that the Mustangs were able to surmount a 21-point deficit and win. With his 42-touch, 254-yard game, Ayres surpassed the 1,000 yard barrier with four games still left in the regular season.
Mosley finished 10 for 19 passing with 179 yards and seven carries for 39 yards.
For Goochland, Plummer finished with 167 yards on 17 attempts while McKenna had 138 yards on 18 tries.
Monticello (4-2, 2-1 Jefferson) hosts Western Albemarle on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Goochland (3-3, 1-2) play at home for the third straight week when they welcome Fluvanna County, also on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
