Big, bright orange cast and all, Amir Waller returned to the field for Orange County Friday night after a broken right wrist sidelined him for the first three games.
It didn’t take the junior long to begin fulfilling the expectations many held for him at the start of camp in August, and it had a seismic impact on Orange County’s offensive production. More importantly for the Hornets though, they picked up a critical win in their Jefferson District opener, coasting past Monticello 35-14.
With Waller in the offensive lineup, Monticello (1-3, 0-1 JD) had to account for him at all times. That opened things up for Orange’s other playmakers like Tyler Seal and Dominique Walker.
“Even with one hand he’s going to take the coverage,” said Orange coach John Kayajanian. “If he had no hands that might be different, but with one arm, he’s going to take the coverage.”
Waller piled up 108 yards on his four carries, with most of the yardage coming on jet-sweep style end-arounds out of his wideout spot. That included his weaving, 55-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. That sprint answered a Monticello touchdown just seconds earlier, a 68-yard catch and run from Garrett Mullaney to Tyler Moneymaker out of Monticello’s single wing/wildcat style set where Moneymaker, the usual starter at quarterback, flexes out to a wide receiver spot. Mullaney found Moneymaker and briefly sparked the Mustangs, but Waller’s rapid answer cut the momentum swing short.
Waller also had 39 yards on three receptions.
Seal had three catches for 65 yards including a 45-yard catch and run down the Orange sideline that included a nifty stop and go move on a Monticello defender.
“It was great having (Amir) back because it took all the weight off my shoulders and it really opened up a lot,” Seal said.
Walker rushed for 47 yards on 12 touches.
Cameron Hughes appeared much more comfortable behind center as he settles in to the position, and Waller’s presence seemed to impact the junior signal-caller in a positive way. Hughes posted a solid 12-for-22 night with two scores, including a 33-yard pass to Evan Walters where Hughes took a monster shot form Monticello’s Aaron DiGregorio but managed to find Walters open in the endzone.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that Orange’s defense put together a stellar night, forcing six turnovers (tied for the most surrendered in Monticello history) including two interceptions that went for touchdowns. Jonathan Moon’s 85-yard interception return highlighted a game filled with long touchdowns and big plays. Each of Orange’s five touchdowns came from at least 33 yards out.
Junior linebacker Eddie Ellington also took an interception back to the house, with his coming from 40 yards out.
CJ Page gave Monticello a strong performance with 113 yards on 17 carries, and Jesse Ayers also ran the ball well with 50 yards on 11 touches. But the Mustangs’ struggles in the passing game and their turnovers undercut any ball movement on offense.
“They’ve got some really good players and they got the ball in those guys’ hands and (then) we got the ball in those guys’ hands,” said Monticello coach Brud Bicknell, referring to the turnover issue. “We’ve got to get some consistency all the way around and we’ve got to settle in on what we do.”
Orange (2-2, 1-0) hosts Goochland next week while the Mustangs host Fluvanna County.
Extra Point
A controversial call at the start of the second half also didn’t play into the Mustangs’ favor. On the opening kickoff, Tyrone Ellis struggled to corral the ball before eventually picking it up at the one. After a advancing a few yards, a hard hit jarred the ball loose and sent it out of the back of the end zone. The play was ruled a touchback, but Monticello’s coaches argued that it was a safety. An analysis of several online sources indicates they had good reason to dispute the call.
Rule 8, Section 5, Article 1 of the NCAA record book (which can differ from the high school book) indicates that “It is a safety when: a. The ball becomes dead out of bounds behind a goal line, except from an incomplete forward pass.”
Less than two minutes later, Hughes found Seal for the 45-yard touchdown and Orange was in control at 28-7.
