Monticello defeats Water Canyon 40-18 to advance to third straight 8-player state championship game

The Monticello High School Football team made it to their third straight 8-player championship game by beating the #3 seed Water Canyon Wildcats in the semifinals on November 8 by a final score of 40-18.
The #2 seed Buckaroos will battle against the #1 seed Rich Rebels in the title game for the second year in a row.
Monticello opened the game with a return to the 49-yard line.
The Buckaroos advanced the ball to the 25 yard line on eight plays but were unable to convert on fourth down giving Water Canyon the ball
The Wildcats drove the ball to the other side of the field but an incomplete pass on the 10th play of the drive gave Monticello the ball back at their own 36-yard line
The Buckaroos drove across the field again down to the 15-yard line but facing a fourth-down and long another incomplete pass gave Water Canyon another possession early in the second quarter.
The Wildcats picked up two first downs on big plays but a big sack by Seth Taylor pushed the Wildcats back 15 yards in a hole they couldn’t dig out of forcing a punt.
Monticello’s next drive began at their own 39-yard line but the third play of the drive resulted in a fumble recovered by Water Canyon giving them the ball at the 35-yard line.
Four plays later Carter Rogers grabbed an interception for the Buckaroos giving them possession at the 30-yard line.
Monticello finally put points on the board with a seven play drive including a 35-yard run by Tavon Black and a 10 yard run from Landon Shumway. The drive was capped with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Keyes to Rogers.
Keyes added the two-point conversion with his feet giving Monticello an 8-0 lead with 3:14 remaining in the half.
The Buckaroo defense gave up a pass-interference penalty but then forced three incomplete passes to make Water Canyon punt the ball.
The Buckaroos set up their next drive at the 21-yard line. On the first play of the drive Keyes once again found Rogers 30-yard down field with Rogers running the remaining 50-yard for a 79-yard touchdown pass and catch for the Buckaroos. Monticello’s John Leber added the point-after kick giving them a 15-0 lead with 2:30 remaining in the half.
Monticello once again forced a three-and-out by Water Canyon with a punt giving the Bucks the ball at their own 41-yard line with two minutes remaining in the half.
The Buckaroos once again marched down the field in five plays including a 30-yard pass from Keyes to Tommy Morrison and a 14 yard pass to Black. The drive finished with a 19-yard touchdown to Rogers with 5 seconds remaining in the half. The point-after was unsuccessful making the score 21-0 going into the half.
At the start of the second half Water Canyon received the ball. A penalty on an onside kick attempt gave the Wildcats a short field at the 29-yard line.
The Buckaroo defense held strong holding on a fourth-down attempt giving Monticello the ball at the 30-yard line.
The Buckaroos moved the ball 60 yards in 11 plays including a 38-yard pass from Keyes to Black but the Buckaroos drive stalled at the 9-yard line on an incomplete fourth-down pass.
Water Canyon’s first play was a 53-yard run with the Wildcats adding a 26-yard pass from Aiden Hammon to Daniel Cox to give them their first points of the game with William Rogers intercepting the two-point conversion Monticello held a 21-6 lead with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter.
Carter Rogers once again used his speed on the kick return at the 20-yard line taking the ball up the near sideline for an 80-yard touchdown return with an unsuccessful point-after making the score 27-6.
Water Canyon returned the favor with Daniel Cox returning a 75-yard kick for a touchdown with Monticello’s defense holding on the point-after making the score 27-12 with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter.
Monticello’s Skyler Peterson fell on an onside kick giving the Bucks good field position.
The Buckaroos picked up one first down with a fourth-down conversion. On the next fourth-down Keyes threw his fourth touchdown to Carter Rogers, a 49-yard bomb down the field. Leber added the point after making the score 34-12 with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Buckaroo defense once again gave up one first down but held the Wildcats four plays later with a turnover on downs giving Monticello the ball at the Water Canyon 41 yard line.
Monticello went on a nine-play drive capped with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Keyes to Morrison to give the Bucks a 40-14 lead.
Water Canyon’s Riley Jones once again returned a 63-yard kickoff return to give the final score of the game 40-18 with 6:15 remaining in the game.
The teams traded a few more possessions with the Buckaroos looking to run the clock out which they were able to do giving them their 8th win of the year and a trip to the championship game.
Keyes completed 12 passes for 291 yards for five touchdowns. Rogers caught six passes for 171 yards and four receiving touchdowns as well as a kick-return for touchdowns.
Black had four catches for 75 yards, Morrison brought in two catches for 45 yards and a touchdown.
On the ground Black had 96 yards on 23 carries while Shumway had 44 yards on 9 carries. Camren Carpenter, Cache Young and Jackson Keyes all had key first-down runs for the Buckaroos as well.
Monticello will play the Rich Rebels for the third postseason in a row and the second straight championship game between the teams. The Rebels won the title last year and also beat Monticello in an August matchup by a score of 55-20.
Kickoff is set for 10:00 am on Saturday November 16. If you can’t make the game Red Rock 92.7 FM and StreamUtah.Live will be broadcasting the audio only with pre-game starting at 9:30 am. Video rights for the championship game are owned by TeamHive.Live