Bucks football drops home opener to Millard

Under the bright lights of their home field on Friday, September 11 the Monticello Buckaroos finally hosted a home football game with the 2A South Millard Eagles.

Millard was coming off a 27-0 blanking by Kanab the week before, so it seemed like it might be an interesting matchup.

However, a bumpy 20-6 first quarter start was too much for the Bucks to overcome as they struggled to stop the Eagles and dropped the game to Millard 55-6. Monticello’s lone touchdown came via the air as Devin Hatch hit Cedar English for a nice 72-yard score.

For the game, Monticello was only able to generate 129 yards in total offense with 98 coming through the air and 31 on the ground. Millard, on the other hand, rumbled to 394 yards in total offense with 257 on the ground.

Monticello converted on only two of 10 third down situations and Millard converted on half of their 10 chances.

Turnovers really hurt Monticello in the game with two fumbles – one for a Millard scoop and score – and two interceptions. On the bright side, Monticello recovered two Eagle fumbles but were unable to capitalize on those opportunities.

The Buckaroos drop to 0-4 on the year and will prepare for a key 2A North matchup and Homecoming game with the third-ranked Duchesne Eagles.

Last week, Duchesne controlled North Summit 20-6 in a 2A North battle. Come out and support the team and Homecoming festivities. Kickoff is at 7 p.m., and it should be beautiful weather.

Golf
On a cold and blustery day, the Monticello golf team layered up and braved the very windy Cove View Golf Course in Richfield, UT on Tuesday, September 8 for week five of Region 16 golf.

Despite the conditions, it was a great day for the Bucks. They finished second for the match in team scoring with a total of 377 shots, only losing to Gunnison Valley by 13 shots.

Other region teams finishing behind Monticello on the day were Altamont (378), North Sevier (379), North Summit (417), and Duchesne (517).

Monticello was led by the three Bs: Boston Freestone shooting an 86 (which tied a North Sevier golfer for the low round of the day), Bailey Walker who shot 91 for the round, and Breckyn Hoggard who came in with 97 shots.

Garret Larsen closed out Buckaroo scoring with a solid round of 103. Darren Westcott shot 130 on the day. 

Despite another much-improved day from Monticello, the team remained positioned in fourth place in the Region 16 standings after only gaining a shot or two in Richfield on the teams they trail.

So, after five weeks of play, Altamont still leads the region with 1,895 shots followed by North Sevier (1,909), Gunnison Valley (1,920), Monticello (1,989), and North Summit (2,094). 

Individually, Monticello has three players in the top six of the region. Boston Freestone still stands in second with an 88.2 shot average, Bailey Walker sits fourth with a 92.75, and Breckyn Hoggard slipped one spot to sixth this week but still has a 94.8 shot average for the season.

Today, Wednesday, September 16, the Buck golfers travel to Morgan to play the Round Valley Golf Course for week six of Region 16 play.

Cross country
The Monticello cross country teams traveled to Heber City on Friday, September 11 to run in the 2020 Wasatch Invitational held at the tough, hilly course at Soldier Hollow.

In the two-day event, the boys and girls teams split up with some runners participating in the Friday afternoon JV runs and others running in the Friday evening varsity races.

The Monticello varsity girls took to the starting line first, running against schools from mainly 3A-6A schools in the three-mile JV race.

Kennedy Brewer led the team with a 52nd place finish in 25:56. She was followed by Serra St. Clair who finished 61st overall with a time of 26:22.

Freshman Shannon Morrison, running in her first truly large race, claimed 99th place, coming in at 29:00. Hailey Gillette ground out her run finishing 140th with a time of 34:20.

Many of the Monticello varsity boys also ran in the afternoon JV race. Freshman Curtis Bunker was the first Buck to finish, claiming 68th place with a time of 20:16. Bailey Walker wasn’t too far behind, running a 20:22 and placing 75th overall out of the field of 280 runners.

Josh Wheeler had a top-100 finish, claiming 93rd place with a time of 20:35. Fellow freshman Jesse Pettit ran a 21:09 and placed 118th. Jacob Johnson was very close to Pettit, running a 21:11 which gave him a 121st place finish.

Taw Robinson and Jalen Bradford ran hard and finished 166th and 176th with times of 22:13 and 22:36. Ryan Nielson also got his first taste of a large race and finished 270th with a time of 28:00.

In the varsity evening race, Adri Bird ran well enough to medal when she came in ninth place surrounded by runners from Springville who are the defending 5A state cross country champs and arguably the strongest team in the state. Adri ran a time of 19:48.

Teammate Lily Long had a great race, placing 40th in the field of 122 runners mainly from the larger state classes with a time of 21:19. Over the two days, 490 girls ran in four varsity races and Adri (27th overall) and Lily (127th) held their own.

Buckaroo seniors Cory Bunker, Alan Pettit, and Eric Montague all toed the line in the evening varsity race, which boasted a field of 140 runners from all over the state.

The boys ran well and when the dust settled, Pettit was the first Monticello runner to finish, claiming 14th place in 16:30. Teammate Cory Bunker wasn’t far behind claiming 16th place with a time of 16:33. Eric Montague had a top 100 finish running an 18:38 to claim 95th place.

Over the two days, 562 boys ran in four varsity races and Alan, Cory, and Eric finished 46th, 51st, and 374th overall for a solid showing.

The following morning, two Monticello junior high boys ran the 1.5-mile coed race. Kaden Pehrson had a top-five finish, claiming fifth overall with a time of 10:03, and Ike Walker claimed 41st, running a 12:09 in the 130-runner field.

It was a great race for the teams and all the runners gained valuable experience that will benefit them as the season grinds on towards state next month.

This week, on Wednesday, September 17 the teams travel to Aurora for the 2020 North Sevier Roller-Coaster Run against mainly Region 16 competition.  

Volleyball
The Monticello High School volleyball team traveled to Moab on Tuesday, September 8 looking to hand back the loss the Lady Bucks suffered to Grand County several weeks ago in Monticello.

The home team wasn’t any kinder to their guests this week as the Lady Red Devils drilled Monticello in straight sets 25-18, 25-9, and 25-10.

As the scores indicate, Grand dominated Monticello in every statistical category except overall blocks. Monticello especially suffered in hitting percentages, assists, aces, and errors.

Saydi Young led the team in hitting percentage with a .125. Saydee Adams was one of the top servers with a 100 percent service percentage, a 3.0 service rating, and an ace. Whitney Knudsen also had a 100 percent service percentage and 2.0 service rating.

Defensively, Adams and Knudsen were the top blockers in the game with two each. Kylie Rogers and Ali Barry each had a block in the loss. Athea Ford and Elli Nielson led the team in digs with 16 and 10 followed by Avery Shumway with seven.

The Lady Bucks dropped to 1-4 on the year and began Region 16 play on Tuesday, September 15 with Duchesne in Monticello.

The girls continue region play on Thursday, September 17 when they visit Gunnison Valley. The Lady Bulldogs lead Region 16 with a 1-0 record; they’re 4-2 overall.

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