Monticello football team tops Dolores in Homecoming

by David Boyle
News Director
Monticello defeated Dolores, CO soundly 44-12 to earn a homecoming victory on September 6. The win put the Bucks record to 2-1 on the year and showcased strengths for Monticello on both sides of the ball.
Monticello’s defense went to work immediately in the game when Buckaroo Jaeden Camacho made a one-handed interception on the first play from scrimmage in the game to give the Buckaroos their first offensive possession at the Dolores 30 yard line.
Monticello’s offense was unable to convert on their first possession going four and out giving the Bears the ball at their own 40 yard line. A punt following a three-and-out gave the Bucks the ball at the 25 yard line.
On first down Carter Rogers took the ball on a jet sweep for a 42-yard gain to put Monticello back into Dolores territory.
After an offside penalty and incomplete pass, Tavon Black ran the ball for an eight-yard gain to give Monticello the ball at the 20 yard line.
Following an offside penalty against Dolores Monticello’s Jackson Keyes found Tommy Morrison for a 15-yard touchdown pass and catch. 
Morrison had two touchdowns on the game through the air. He shared in the post-game that catching is his favorite part of the game. “They didn’t guard it and I got out a lot and got the ball and capitalized.”
On the two-point conversion Rogers threw a ball to Camren Carpenter to make the score 8-0 with eight minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Carpenter’s catch matched his touchdown catch in week one, as well as a fourth-down conversion he made later in the game. The 285-pound athlete says he loves playing fullback for the Buckaroos, something he’s been trying to do for some time.
“It took three years but [they] finally gave me my chance and I can do it.” After six plays Monticello forced a punt and the Buckaroos got the ball at their own 25 yard line.
On first down Keyes threw a 25-yard pass to Rogers to give the Bucks the ball at midfield. The Buckaroos picked up another 25 yards on the next play on a run by Black.
Black added another ten yards. An offside penalty by the Bears and a few short runs by Black and Carpenter set up a one-yard touchdown run by Black. John Leber added the point-after kick to give Monticello a 15-0 lead with one minute remaining in the first quarter.
The Buckaroo defense once again forced a turnover on downs to set up their next possession at the Monticello 47 yard line. On the fifth play of the drive Keyes found Morrison once again for a 33-yard touchdown catch.
Morrison said postgame all the balls thrown his way were on the money from Keyes. “He didn’t miss me once. Everything was on the dot. He really performed tonight and I’m really proud of him.”
Cache Young added the two-point conversion on the run to make the score 23-0 with 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
On the next play from scrimmage the Bears hit a big play when quarterback River Wickstrom found Darren Hicks for a 57-yard touchdown pass.
The Buckaroo defense stopped a two-point try to make the score 23-6 with ten and a half minutes remaining in the half. The Bears then recovered an onside kick near midfield.
After forcing a four-and-out the Bucks took over at their own 48. The Bucks took the ball 52 yards in nine plays capped off with an eight-yard Keyes-to-Rogers touchdown pass. Leber added the extra point to make the score 30-6 with five minutes remaining in the half.
Another four-and-out by the Bears gave Monticello possession. After a three-yard run by Black on first down, Keyes loaded up a big pass to find Rogers in stride for a 41-yard touchdown.
William Rogers added the two-point conversion on a run to give Monticello a 38-6 lead with three minutes remaining in the half.
The Bears moved the ball about twenty yards downfield on their final possession but were unable to find the endzone before the end of the half.
Monticello opened the second half picking up one first down but penalties and fumbles in the backfield led to a turnover on downs giving Dolores possession at the Monticello 31 yard line.
On their first offensive play Hicks ran the ball down to the one yard line before Morrison made the touchdown-saving tackle. On the next play the ball was fumbled on a run up the middle and recovered by Morrison. He said postgame he wasn’t sure how the ball got out.
“All I know was I was behind it and then it slipped out underneath. I jumped out on it and I got it.”
Facing 99 yards of green grass in front of them the Bucks handed off to Black who earned eight yards on first down. On the second play of the drive Keyes faked the handoff to Black and found him 20 yards down the field with Black sprinting the rest of the way for a 92-yard touchdown catch to make the score 44 to 6 with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.
With a 35-point lead, the score essentially ended the game with a running clock put into place and the Buckaroo underclassman getting an opportunity to play on Friday night.
The Bears added one more score in the fourth quarter on a 50-yard touchdown run to make the final count 44-12 in favor of Monticello.
Monticello finished the game with 310 yards through the air and 116 rushing yards for 426 yards of total offense. The Buckaroo varsity defense held Dolores to 65 pass yards and 55 rush yards. Carpenter said they play defense as a team.
“Our whole team helps. We try to group tackle as much as we can. Carter Rogers especially does well.”
Monticello (2-1) travels to Hilldale to play Water Canyon (2-2) on September 13 at 7 pm. If you can’t make the game you can watch it at StreamUtah.Live.