Monticello cruises to win over St. Joseph

THIS WEEK'S GAME WILL BE VIDEO STREAMED ONLINE AT: STREAMUTAH.LIVE

by David Boyle
News Director
The Monticello Buckaroos opened the 2023 eight-player football season with a convincing win over St. Joseph in Ogden on Friday, August 18.
In the Jayhawks’ first ever football contest the Buckaroos walked away with a 54-7 victory to start the year 1-0.
Monticello rushed for 285 yards and added 78 yards through the air on offense to rack up 54 points while holding the Jayhawks to seven points in the game.
Monticello first put points on the board in the first quarter with a 33-yard run from quarterback JD McDonald to make the score 7-0. On the next possession, Thomas Fullmer punched the ball in from two yards out to give the Buckaroos a 14-0 lead.
Monticello showed no signs of slowing down, following up with a five-yard touchdown run from Tavon Black to make the score 21-0 to end the first-quarter.
The Bucks kept rolling in the second quarter with a 25-yard touchdown pass from McDonald to Robert Morrison. Morrison scored again on a 45-yard touchdown run. Another 20-yard pass and catch between McDonald and Morrison gave the Buckaroos a 40-0 halftime lead.
With a running clock in the second half the game sped up. Still, Monticello scored twice more in the third quarter. A 46-yard McDonald rushing touchdown was followed by a 23-yard Landon Shumway touchdown run to increase the Buckaroo lead to 54-0.
In the fourth quarter St Joseph finally scored the first touchdown in their school history with an impressive 89-yard run. A successful point-after try made the final score 54-7.
Monticello’s defense was also impressive in the game, forcing four Jayhawk turnovers. Morrison recovered two fumbles while Mason Atwood and Ryan Lewis recovered a fumble apiece.
Shumway led the defense with six tackles in the game with Black recording five tackles. Chandler Henderson and Zac Thayn each had four tackles. Henderson recorded two tackles for loss and Thayn got three.
Monticello hits the road again this week. They’ll face the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind in a JV contest in Ogden on Thursday, August 24. Then the team will continue their journey to Randolph where the varsity squad will take on the Rich Rebels on Friday, August 25.
Monticello and Rich last faced each other in the eight-player semifinals on November 3, 2022. The Buckaroos earned a 21-20 victory in an incredibly entertaining back-and-forth game. The Bucks and Rebels are slated as the teams to beat this year in eight-player football. 
Friday’s game kicks off at 4:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on Redrock 92 Radio. The game will be streamed this week at StreamUtah.Live