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Strong Finish: Charlottesville beats Monticello to finish off regular season

Photo by Bart Isley

After an 0-7 start, Charlottesville has found some momentum in the later stages of the season and the Black Knights kept it going Friday night with a crosstown clash with Monticello to end the regular season. 

 

“I couldn’t be prouder, they finished the way it should’ve started where we have a varsity program that’s not tearing each other down, they’re trying to build,” said Charlottesville coach Eric Sherry. “To finish with three straight and they’re trying to lift each other up? I’m happy and proud of them.”

 

With 301 all purpose yards and three touchdowns from Eddison Duolo that counted Friday night, Charlottesville capped its season with a 27-14 win over Monticello that capped a three-game winning streak to finish off the year. 

 

“We knew this was going to be a game that was about your heart and mind since it was senior night and we just played with our hearts and just kept going,” Duolo said.

 

Duolo had a pair of long touchdowns called back for penalties in addition to the three that went into the books. He scored early in the second quarter from 68 yards out and then raced in from 34 yards out after catching a desperation heave toward the sideline from Seth Nowell late in the second quarter. In the third, he had to work for it, with two scores called back before he ripped off a 67-yard touchdown with 2:21 left in the third to extend the Black Knights’ lead to 27-0. 

 

It was a huge performance on senior night for Duolo as he totaled 212 yards on just 13 carries and had four catches for 89 yards. 

 

“We went through an 0-10 season, we went 0-6 and we finished it out together and it felt amazing,” said Charlottesville senior Semaj Dennis.

 

Nowell went 6-for-9 for 140 yards with the bulk of that coming on the touchdown toss to Duolo and a 44-yard toss to Scoot Jones that helped set up a Nowell touchdown run in the second quarter. 

 

“We put it all together tonight,” Jones said. “It was our last time playing together.”

 

The Black Knights’ secondary was locked in throughout, with Bishop Paige getting the first pick early in the game, Lamarione Brock picking off a pair and Nowell snagging one of his own. The Black Knights kept the Mustangs largely especially on third and four downs as the Mustangs converted just two of seven attempts on those downs. 

 

“Whether it was watching a group of seniors and still seeing improvement from them and some older guys really stepping up and leading during a challenging game or it was seeing some amazing production from some young players,” said Monticello coach Matt Hicks. “That’s a huge positive for us as a program.”

 

The Monticello offense came to life briefly after Duolo’s third score with Matt Dixon connecting with Brandon Herring. Herring had 10 catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to claw back into the game and make it interesting late. 

 

For the Black Knights, it’s a strong finish to a challenging year and the resilience Charlottesville showed to get there is a critical step for the program.

 

“In an instant gratification society, football is not that,” Sherry said. “You’ve got to work four days to get one, so I’m asking a lot. It’s a lot of work and I love every one of them.”

 

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