Monticello expected to walk into the comforts of their home stadium and deliver a resounding victory before boisterous throngs of black-clad fans on Homecoming night. Western Albemarle had more sinister ideas.
The Warriors of Western Albemarle (3-4) marched onto Monticello’s (4-3) home turf and secured one of the biggest upsets of the year in a convincing 38-12 win Friday night. It marked the Warriors’ second consecutive victory over the Mustangs since dropping nine of the previous 10 games.
Western Albemarle senior quarterback Abbott Wallenborn put on an absolute clinic all night long, ending the game with 150 yards rushing to go along with 160 yards passing and four touchdowns. Monticello had no answer for the shifty dual-threat quarterback, whose accuracy with his arm was bested only by the nimble footwork of his legs. Wallenborn extended several key drives by exploding through narrow gaps and spinning around tacklers in crucial third down situations. The Warriors converted six of 11 third down tries and one of two fourth down attempts.
“We definitely came in here fired up,” Wallenborn said. “We knew we were playing a really talented team, and all that was running through my head was how awesome would it be to shut these guys out on their homecoming night.”
Senior running back Jesse Ayres led the Monticello offense with two touchdowns and 162 yards on 28 carries, but he was stuffed near the line of scrimmage on several occasions by a Western defense that frequently stacked the box to slow the run game. The Mustangs got very little from their aerial attack, as sophomore quarterback Jhalil Mosley was held to five completions and 81 yards on 20 attempts. On defense the Mustangs could do little to stop the Warriors’ balanced offense, which finished with 447 total yards and punted on only one occasion.
“We didn’t tackle, we didn’t get off blocks, we just didn’t play very well,” Monticello coach Brud Bicknell said. “All the credit to them, though. They played great.”
Western opened the scoring early in the first quarter when Wallenborn threw into double coverage on third and goal from the 18. Senior wide receiver Jake Nidiffer — who led the Warriors in receiving with four catches for 97 yards — hauled in the jump ball in the left corner of the end zone to set up an extra point attempt by junior Pete Barber that made the score 7-0. Nidiffer struck again less than two minutes later when, on fourth and nine from the 29, he ran down a deep Wallenborn throw and made a diving touchdown catch to put his team up by two scores. Ayers countered seconds later with a breathtaking 63 yard touchdown run. After appearing to be wrapped up in the backfield for a loss, he shrugged off several defenders and raced all the way home for the score.
Down 14-6 and facing fourth and 13 from their own 48 yard line, Monticello elected to go for the first down, but Mosley had nowhere to go with the football and was stopped after a four yard gain to force the turnover. Senior tailback Adam Diehl made them pay three plays later when he raced up the gut 45 yards for the touchdown.
“It was a trap play, so we had a pull from the guard, and he just cleaned the defensive tackle,” Diehl said. “I saw a seam, had another great block upfield on a safety, and after that it was just daylight.”
Western continued to apply the heat in the second half, outscoring Monticello 17-6 in the final two quarters. The scoring included a towering 39 yard field goal that probably would have been good from at least 50 yards. Barber finished the night 5-5 on PAT’s and 1-1 on field goal attempts.
The Warriors will take their momentum into a home game againt Monroe on Friday, and Monticello will look to bounce back against Charlottesville on Saturday.
“I have tremendous respect for [Monticello’s] program, for Brud and for how he runs his system,” Western coach Ed Pierce said. “Obviously to play well against them is a very special thing for our team. I loved the intensity on both sides of the ball tonight and the fact that our players took on a challenge like that and managed to get the job done.”
