Monticello football suffers second loss of season on the road at Norwood, Colorado

by David Boyle
News Director
The Monticello Buckaroos were defeated by the Norwood Mavericks for their second loss of the season on September 20.
The Buckaroos opened the game at the two yard line going on a sustained 68-yard drive before they stalled out on fourth down giving Norwood possession.
The Mavericks responded with a fast-paced well-executed offensive drive going 70 yards in four plays to score first.
Peyton Hatathley blocked the extra point to keep the score 6-0 with 6:50 left in the first quarter.
Monticello’s offense next went three plays and out with a Buckaroo punt setting up Norwood at the 42 yard line.
The Mavericks went 42 yards in two plays to score again and make the score 12-0 when the Buckaroo defense prevented a two-point conversion.
Monticello’s next drive was just two plays with a pass intercepted giving Norwood the ball at the 25 yard line.
With their backs against the wall early Monticello senior Carter Rogers stepped up to grab an interception in the Norwood end zone.
The Buckaroos responded with a 13-play drive down to the Norwood 18 yard line but the Bucks were unable to convert on fourth down and gave the ball back to the Mavericks.
The Buckaroo defense held strong again forcing a three-and-out with Monticello getting the ball back at the Norwood 42 yard line. Monticello established a running game with Tavon Black earning 26 yards on six carries.
It was the pass game that put Monticello into the endzone with quarterback Jackson Keyes finding Tom Morrison for a 16-yard score.
Carter Rogers added the two-point conversion to make the score 12-8 with six minutes remaining in the first half.
Norwood responded immediately however, going 65 yards in four plays including a 39-yard run to make the score 18-8 with four minutes remaining in the half.
Monticello’s offense was humming late in the second quarter. Monticello picked up 43 yards through the air and got the ball within Norwood’s 10 yard line with under a minute to go in the half.
With the ball at about the four yard line on third down a fumbled pitch was recovered by the Mavericks who knelt on the ball to make the score 18-8 going into the break.
In the second half the Mavericks received the opening possession but fumbled on their third play giving the Buckaroos possession at the Norwood 47 yard line.
Monticello drove down inside the five yard line in eight plays with 17 yards on the ground and 28 through the air.
On second and goal from the two yard line the Mavericks read a designed pass that was intercepted and returned to midfield.
The result was two takeaways by Norwood while Monticello was just yards from scoring.
The Mavericks went 53 yards in six plays capped by a 27-yard passing touchdown to make the score 24-8 with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Monticello’s next possession was just one play when a fumble was recovered by Norwood.
A few penalties pushed the Mavericks back but on a fourth down and twenty play the Mavericks ran 60 yards to make the score 32-8 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Monticello’s next possession ended in an interception but the Buckaroos returned the favor the very next play with Cache Young intercepting a Norwood pass to give Monticello the ball at the Norwood 36 yard line.
The Bucks drove inside the five again but were pushed back and unable to score on fourth down which was the first play of the fourth quarter.
Norwood then went on a 13-play drive that stalled out on fourth down but burned a lot of clock.
Monticello responded with an eight-play, 77-yard drive capped by a 25-yard touchdown pass from Keyes to Carter Rogers to make the score 32-14 with four minutes remaining in the game.
The teams would trade a few more possessions but ultimately run the clock out with the final score favoring Norwood.
The game ended with Monticello outgaining Norwood in yardage with Monticello gaining over 400 yards of offense to Norwood’s 380 yards.
Black carried a huge load in the game rushing for 152 yards on 33 carries to average 4.6 yards a carry. Carter Rogers also rushed for 67 yards on eight carries to average 8.3 yards a carry.