Buckaroos get back in win column over St. Joe

by David Boyle
News Director
The Monticello Buckaroos earned a big win at home against St. Joseph on October 4. The 49-12 victory put Monticello at 4-3 on the season and back to the #2 spot in the 8-man RPI standings.
After Monticello went three-and-out in their opening possession the defense went to work quickly when Carter Rogers intercepted the Jayhawks’ first pass of the game.
Five plays later Tavon Black ran into the endzone from one yard out to open the scoring.
Jackson Keyes connected with Rogers for a two-point conversion, making the Monticello lead 8-0 two minutes into the game.
On their next possession St Joseph drove the ball from their own 15 to the Monticello 25 but the drive stalled when a fourth-down conversion attempt fell just short.
Jackson Keyes then hit Rogers for a 56-yard swing pass to the Jayhawk 31. Five plays later the Buckaroos found the endzone again when Rogers caught a nine-yard Keyes pass, increasing their lead to 14-0.
Monticello got a 14-yard sack during the Jayhawks’ next possession, ultimately, forcing a punt. They took over at the St. Joseph 31 and wasted no time.
On the first play of the drive Keyes hit Black up the middle for a 31-yard touchdown pass, increasing the Buckaroo lead to 22-0 with 1:30 left in the opening quarter.
St. Joseph mustered one first down on their next drive but fumbled on their own 39 on the first play of the second quarter. Camren Carpenter recovered for Monticello, giving the Bucks good field position.
The Bucks were unable to capitalize on the turnover when their fourth-down conversion attempt failed, giving St. Joe possession at their own 26.
The teams continued to go back and forth when Rogers returned a Jayhawk punt to the St. Joseph 44. But the Bucks broke the stalemate, going 44 yards in five plays that included runs by Black and passes caught by Jaeden Camacho, Cache Young, and Carpenter.
They capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Carpenter stretching their lead to 30-0 with 7 minutes remaining in the half.
St. Joseph got a good return to the Monticello 44 on the ensuing kickoff. A big completion set them up at the ten yard line but Monticello’s defense held strong, earning a big four-play stop.
St. Joseph responded on defense, snagging an interception to take the ball right back at the 28 yard line. This time the Jayhawks were able to get on the board when quarterback Gunner Windsor connected withy Declan Yarosik for an eight-yard touchdown pass. Monticello blocked the point-after try to make the score 30-6 with 3:30 remaining in the first half.
The Buckaroos picked up some first downs on their next possession but penalties slowed their drive, resulting in a turnover on downs at the St. Joe 26.
Three plays later Rogers pulled down his second interception of the game to effectively end the half with Monticello leading 30-6.
St. Joseph began the second half with the ball at the 30 yard line, but it was a quick three-and-out moving in the wrong direction including a big sack by Peyton Hatathley. Monticello returned the punt to the 39 yard line to start their next possession.
The Buckaroos went on a six-play drive including a 27-yard gain on a catch by Rogers from Keyes. Keyes added six points on a two-yard touchdown run, increasing the Monticello lead to 36-6.
St. Joseph’s next possession ended on a fourth-and-short run attempt but a fumbled ball was picked up by Landon Shumway and returned to the 20 yard line.
Black caught a pass for 19 yards on the next play and the Bucks added six more points with a throw from Keyes to Rogers to make the score 42-6 and a running clock with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
After holding St. Joseph the Bucks took over at their own 46 yard line. On the second play of that drive Cache Young threw a pass 16 yards through the air to Rogers who pulled it down and ran the remaining 40 yards to add the final points of the game for Monticello. Seth Taylor added the extra-point kick making the score 49-6.
Speaking after the game Black noted it was an impressive night for his teammate.
“Just his snags, man. I mean, if the ball’s coming his way he’s he’s going to catch it almost every time. You know whether he’s over three guys or he’s wide open –usually wide open.”
On the ensuing play Skyler Peterson booted the ball deep for the Buckaroos and made the tackle to limit a return by the Jayhawks.
St Joseph added one more touchdown with the final score favoring Monticello 49-12.
Black added the game was a great team win. “Great job from everybody. Coaches knew what we needed to step up and get this win and they executed we executed we are going hard all week didn’t take any plays off I thought that’s a team win for everybody.”
Monticello has a quick turnaround this week. They’ll travel to play Whitehorse in Montezuma Creek on Thursday, October 10. The kickoff is at 7 p.m. on StreamUtah.Live and Redrock 92.7 FM.