Tough outing for Monticello High School football team vs Milford

The Monticello Buckaroos ran into a tough opponent on Friday, August 27 in the Milford Tigers. The Tigers beat the Bucks 51-7 in the team’s second loss of the season.

Monticello came into the matchup after losing a close game to Gunnison in week two.

Not only did the Buckaroos lose the game they also lost their senior starting quarterback Devin Hatch for the season due to an injury in the fourth quarter.

The injury gave sophomore J.D. McDonald his first varsity start against a tough visiting team from Milford. 

The Tigers have built a program with recent success including state championships in 2017 and 2018 in 1A and runners-up in 2019 in 2A. 

The first half ended with the Tigers up 51-0, but Monticello showed resilience in the second half, scoring a touchdown and holding Milford to zero points.

Monticello received the opening kick of the game. The Bucks ran three plays from offense all for losses to open the game with a fumble on third down giving Milford the ball within the five yard line. Two plays later the Tigers scored to take an early 7-0 lead.

The rest of the first half played out similarly with Milford scoring seven touchdowns and forcing a safety on a Monticello punt attempt, combining to give the Tigers their 51-0 lead at halftime.

With the 35-point running clock rule in effect at the start of the third quarter, the Buckaroos played a condensed second half.

The Buckaroos had a good second half against the backups of Milford.

McDonald connected with senior wide receiver Logan Draper for a 39-yard touchdown pass with about seven minutes to go in the game.

The pass came on a fourth-down attempt from the Bucks. Monticello also held the Tigers in the second half to zero points.

In the passing game, McDonald completed 14 of 30 pass attempts for 150 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Draper caught nine passes for 95 yards and the touchdown, while Landon Ewart caught five passes for 55 yards.

The Buckaroos struggled on the ground with 23 carries for -24 yards. Cameron Bailey had five carries for 16 yards, including a nine-yard run which was the longest of the night for the Buckaroos.

On defense, Tyler Thayn and Tate Ramsey had six tackles each. Michael Peterson and Thomas Fullmer each had five tackles. Bryson Jones and Nik Lundell each had a sack and Ewart caught an interception for Monticello.

Monticello takes on 1A foe Parowan on Friday, September 3 in Parowan. Both teams are 1-2.

Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on PictureItPalmer.com.