By Logan Riddick / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
On the road in overtime, play for the win. Especially if your starting quarterback, who also holds for field goals, is done for the night due to injury.
“We were in such a frenzy on the sideline, and time [on the play clock] was winding down,” said Monticello coach Jeff Woody, who called timeout after initially sending out the field goal unit for a 19-yard attempt from a tricky angle on the right hash. “We didn’t feel great with a backup holder in the game at that point. We’ve got Kyree Koonce and an offensive line that’s been doing well all night, so go ahead and make the play call and get out of here, one way or the other.”
Koonce took the handoff from seven-game starter Daniel Hummel and broke the plane on the left side, thus delivering Monticello its first overtime win in program history by the score of 41-38 over Albemarle.
“We went over this all week in practice: we knew that something big was going to come up, and I just stepped up and made the play,” said Koonce, who carried a career-high 28 times for a season-high 151 yards.
In addition to his overtime game-winner, Koonce capped Monticello’s first possessions of each half with rushing touchdowns. In the early minutes of the first quarter, Albemarle advanced 22 yards but turned the ball over on downs at midfield. The Mustang offense then took the field with the first freshman starting quarterback in program history. Freshman Kevin Jarrell, who had seen second-half time in each game this season, completed his first two attempts and Griffin Davis converted fourth and two with a carry to the Patriots’ 40 to setup Koonce’s 37-yard scoring dash.
“We’ve had some communication and timing problems in the offense,” Woody said. “We really focused this week on wide receivers understanding the routes they’re supposed to run. We were looking for more speed on the field this week. Because of the struggle last week, we decided we were going to go with [Jarrell] at quarterback. We were going to take our lumps if need be, and we were going to adjust Hummel out wide because of his height and athletic ability.”
For the rest of the quarter and the first four minutes of the second, the teams largely traded punts and interceptions. A long Koonce run inside the 10 was offset two plays later by a high shotgun snap that went for a 22-yard loss, ultimately leading to a turnover on downs. The Patriots then mounted an 11-play, 53-yard drive, significantly aided by two personal foul penalties by Monticello. Senior kicker Chandler Carrera hit from 34 yards to put Albemarle on the board with 4:21 left in the half. The Patriots moved into scoring range again in the final seconds of the half, again aided by a defensive personal foul. With the first of at least three highlight-reel catches, senior receiver Cameron Green then hauled in D.G. Archer’s deep pass with one hand while sliding to the ground for a gain of 44 yards with 19 seconds left. Carrera connected from 24 yards to pull the Patriots within a point, 7-6, at the break.
Starting the third, Koonce covered the last 20 yards on the seventh play of an 80-yard touchdown drive for Monticello. It didn’t take Albemarle long to respond this time, though: junior Rooney Turay muffed the ensuing kickoff at his own 1, but then scooped the ball up and weaved 45 yards to set up the offense near midfield. On the second play, Archer hit Green deep for a gain of 51, and Turay capped the drive with a one-yard dive. Archer kept it on a bootleg for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14. The Patriots’ defense kept the momentum on the home side by stuffing a fourth-and-one run to halt an 11-play Monticello drive at the Albemarle 38. Archer and Turay led the offense right back to the red zone, where Green slipped behind the safeties again and made a diving catch of Archer’s 19-yard lob in the end zone.
“I’m not surprised at anything [Green]’s doing,” said Albemarle coach Brandon Isaiah. “We knew he was our leader on defense and a playmaker back there at safety. I made the decision it was time to try to get him more involved offensively. Since the Western game, he’s kind of taken flight. Tonight, we had some matchups we liked. They were playing a lot of man coverage. Cameron’s a senior and I’ve got a good quarterback, so toss the ball around. Cameron just made a lot of plays.”
Another high shotgun snap derailed Monticello’s next possession, and a 47-yard field goal attempt proved a few too many. However, Albemarle also suffered a kicking snafu when a Mustang punt rusher partially blocked Carrera’s kick after a three-and-out. Starting at the Patriots’ 41, Jarrell came back from another errant snap to convert third and 16 with a strike down the middle to Derek Williams on the first play of the fourth quarter. Four plays later, facing fourth and 10, Jarrell found Syrael Breckenridge wide open in the middle for a 30-yard catch-and-score to tie the game 21-21 with 10:26 left
“Both coaching staffs made adjustments,” said Woody. “That fourth quarter, it was down one, up one, got to catch them, so fans saw a great game tonight.”
The shootout was on the rest of the way. Albemarle drove 74 yards in nine plays, including another big Green reception of 38 yards, with Turay scoring on a six-yard run. Monticello answered with its own nine play drive covering 86 yards, opening with a 27-yard screen to Koonce. The Mustangs benefitted from a defensive interference flag on third and seven, and a 33-yard pass from Jarrell that went through a defensive back’s hands and hit junior receiver Seth Weaver at the Patriots’ 10. Jarrell tied the game on a one-yard keeper with 4:24 remaining. After a quick three-and-out, Jarrell led the offense back into scoring range again; however, rather than bleeding the clock, Bates scored on a 24-yard catch-and-run to put Monticello up 35-28 with 1:19 to play.
“I’ve never seen a fourteen year-old young man be so poised and be so mature,” Woody said. “We told him on Monday that it was his call and time to go. Just like he has done all year, he came in every single day this week and we sat down and talked about the game plan. [At Brookville], we started a freshman quarterback back in 2009. I feel like Kevin has just as much poise and intelligence as Kendall Becraft, and he won two state championships. His future is bright.”
Those 79 seconds would allowed for three more possessions. Albemarle needed less than 43 ticks to cover 67 yards, with help from two defensive personal fouls, before Archer hit junior receiver Ethan Blundin for a 21-yard score. The Patriots returned the favor with a roughing the passer penalty on Monticello’s next offensive snap, but Jarrell’s next throw was intercepted by junior linebacker JT Shorten and returned to the Mustangs’ 39 with 14 seconds on the clock. Turay took a draw 15 yards and Isaiah sent out the field goal team with 5 seconds left. Carrera’s 41-yard attempt had the distance, but sailed wide left, sending the game to overtime.
Monticello won the toss and chose defense first. Starting at the 10, two Turay runs netted zero yards. Archer scrambled all over the field on third down but was finally stopped at the 10, forcing a field goal attempt. Carrera was good from 27 yards.
With Jarrell having suffered an apparent head injury on his last play in regulation, Hummel moved back from receiver to quarterback for Monticello’s possession. After an incompletion and a Koonce carry for no gain, Koonce caught a screen and took it down to the 2. Woody sent out Lapierre to try for the tie and a second overtime, but then called timeout and made the game-winning change.
“I had no doubt in my mind what Jeff Woody was going to do,” Isaiah said. “I knew he was going to go for the win. Put the ball in your playmaker’s hands and go win the game or not, that’s what great coaches do.”
Jarrell completed 21 of 34 passes for 263 yards, with two scores and two picks. Breckenridge was his top target with six catches for 77 yards. Monticello’s 437 yards of offense were tempered by three turnovers and 14 penalties for 149 yards.
“We’ve got to right those wrongs, especially if we plan on going where we need to go,” Woody said.
Archer led Albemarle going 19-of-33 for 242 yards with two score and one interception. Green was electrifying with eight receptions for 157 yards. Blundin pulled down six for 61 yards. Turay carried 23 times for 56 yards and two scores.
Monticello (6-2) closes the regular season with a two-game home stand starting next Friday with Orange County (1-7) as it looks to secure a home game in the first round of the 3A West bracket. Albemarle (2-6) heads to the Jungle in major need of a win over Louisa (6-2) to land a playoff spot in 5A North.
