Monti decides outcome early against Tipton

   This one was settled early.

   How early? That’s up to the discretion of anyone who witnessed Monticello’s 61-14 football victory Sept. 16 at Tipton.

   Monticello scored on its first play from scrimmage, on its first three possessions and six of its first seven, and led 47-0 at halftime.

   In so doing, the Panthers (1-0 district, 2-2 overall) opened Class 2A, District 5 play in the win column, decisively.

   Quarterback Preston Ries threw for 276 yards and three scores for the Panthers, all in the first half. Peyton Schilling had three catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and Tate Petersen had 129 receiving yards.

   The Panthers also scored defensively. Gavin Fuhrmeister returned a Tipton fumble 25 yards for a score after a hit by Elias Etzel jarred the ball loose. Monticello also had a second quarter safety when a Tipton snap went over its punter’s head and out of its end zone.

   “It was big for us to come out and play well and get a win,” Monticello coach Wes Wilson said. “I thought our guys had a great week of practice and were focused coming into the game.”

   Defense was a big part of the win for Monticello. The Panthers held the Tigers to just 83 passing yards and forced four turnovers and recorded three sacks, two by Ries and one by Etzel.

   “Our defense has played extremely well this season, and Friday was no different,” coach Wilson said. “We are very athletic on that side of the ball and are starting to created more turnovers.”

   Offensively, the Panther barrage began early. On the first play from scrimmage, Ries lofted a pass over the middle to a wide-open Petersen, who raced to the end zone for a 63-yard touchdown. Christian Castillo, who was 6-for-6 on extra point tries, added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

   After a Schilling interception, Ries bounced off several tacklers on a 54-yard run to the Tipton 4-yard line, and from there Dylan Roher scored on the next play for a 14-0 lead.

   A fumble on the ensuing kickoff, recovered by Etzel, set up the next score, a 29-yard pass from Ries to Schilling, who outreached a falling defender and sprinted down the left sideline for the score.

   Just 4:53 into the game, the Panthers led 21-0.

   Monticello got the ball back on an interception and 19-yard return from Roher, but wound up punting.

   On their next series, however, Ries hit Schilling again, this time for a 78-yard touchdown and a 28-0 lead just before the first quarter ended.

   The Panthers added 19 more points in the second quarter. Conner Jordan broke a 21-yard touchdown run, which was followed by the safety out of Tipton’s punt formation.

   On the free kick, Petersen returned the all 35 yards to the Tipton 24. After a 21-yard pass from Ries to Cael Sampson, Roher scored on a three-yard run. Juan Espinoza-Castillo was brought in for the extra point, which gave the Panthers a 44-0 lead.

   Castillo closed the half with a 22-yard field goal, set up by a 44-yard pass from Ries to Petersen. Monticello led 47-0 at the break.

   “We have continued to get better offensively and have a lot of confidence on that side of the ball right now,” the coach said.

   The 35-point “mercy rule” kept the clock running and shortened the second half. Monticello took a 54-0 lead when Etzel hit a Tipton running back and knocked the ball loose. Fuhrmeister scooped it up and ran untouched down the right sideline for a 25-yard score.

   Tipton followed with a 70-yard drive and a three-yard touchdown by Landon Holub.

   Each team scored twice in the fourth quarter as well; Sawyer Brokaw on a nine-yard pass play from Brady Gogel for the Panthers; Holub on a four-yard run for the Tigers.

   “We were able to get a lot of guys a lot of meaningful game minutes, which only helps as we get deeper into the season,” Wilson said.

West Liberty

here Friday

   The Panthers have four regular season games left, and three of them will be at home, starting with a matchup against West Liberty (1-0, 1-3) Sept. 23.

   “West Liberty is always a well-coached team that plays extremely hard,” coach Wilson said. “They always have a new wrinkle that we will have to adjust to. We have to get out to a fast start again and put pressure on them early in the game.”

Sept. 16

(at Tipton)

Monti   28 19  7  7  – 61

Tipton    0    0  7  7  – 14

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

     Monti – Petersen 63 pass from Ries (Castillo kick), 11:40 remaining.

     Monti – Roher 4 run (Castillo kick), 8:12.

     Monti – Schilling 29 pass from Ries (Castillo kick), 7:07.

     Monti – Schilling 78 pass from Ries (Castillo kick), 0:38.1.

SECOND QUARTER

     Monti – Jordan 21 run (Castillo kick), 10:15.

     Monti – Safety, ball snapped out of Tipton end zone, 8:11.

     Monti – Roher 3 run (Espinoza-Castillo kick), 7:29.

     Monti – Castillo 22 field goal, 0:00.

THIRD QUARTER

     Monti – Fuhrmeister 25 fumble return (Castillo kick), 7:37.

     Tip – Holub 3 run (Daedlow kick), 2:02.

FOURTH QUARTER

     Monti – Brokaw 9 pass from Gogel (Espinoza-Castillo kick), 8:24.

     Tip – Holub 4 run (Daedlow kick), 1:15.

TEAM STATISTICS

                                  Monti      Tip

First downs              7            14

Rushing yds.          188       146

Passing yds.           308         83

Comp.-att.-int.  12-14-0  9-20-2

Total yards             496        229

Fumbles lost            0             2

Penalties-yds.        5-65      5-45 

MONTICELLO STATISTICS

     Rushing – Ries 6-109, Roher 7-46, Jordan 2-28, Luensman 3-6, Petersen 1-3.

     Passing – Ries 9-11-276-3-0, Gogel 3-3-32-1-0.

     Receiving – Petersen 4-129, Schilling 3-123, Sampson 1-22, Brokaw 2-21, T. Luensman 1-11, Guilford 1-2.

     Interceptions – Schilling, Roher.

     Fumble recoveries – Etzel, Fuhrmeister.

     Tackles – Ries 6.5, Fuhrmeister 6, Prull 5.5, Cox 5, Petersen 4, Sauser 3, Husmann 3, Guilford 2.5, J. Luensman 2.5, Wright 2.5, Brokaw 2.5, Roher 2.5, Besler 2.5, Sampson 2, Etzel 2, Monk 2, Jordan 1.5, Schilling 1, Tallman 1, Sternhagen 1, Graves 1, Taylor 1.

     Sacks – Ries 2, Etzel 1.

     Tackles-for-loss – Ries 3.5, Etzel 1, Fuhrmeister 0.5.