Seconds later, the reaction was more pronounced when it was revealed that the Mustangs had finished fourth, giving them their first trip to the Group AA tournament in school history.

Three proved to be the magic number for Monticello on Friday night, as senior running back C.J. Page — who wears that digit as his uniform number — exploded for three of his four touchdowns in the third quarter to propel the Mustangs to a 34-14 victory against Charlottesville, their fifth straight over the Black Knights.

That hard work will come full circle today as Sanford, now at Massachusetts, plays what will likely be his final collegiate game in the state of Virginia.

After defeating Orange in the Hornets’ homecoming game a week ago, Goochland did the same Friday evening to Monticello, running for a whopping 340 yards in an equally stunning 59-34 victory.

Two-time defending district champion Monticello will begin its bid for an impressive third consecutive league title at Orange (1-2) tonight.

Powhatan cruised past the depleted Mustangs, 56-6, behind the one-two punch of quarterback Shawn Minor and running back Landen Bradley, to win for the second straight year.

After being held scoreless through the first 47:16 of game time, however, Monticello converted goals on short corners No. 6, 7 and 9 to defeat Charlottesville 3-0 at home.

Huguenot’s Quinton Watson intercepted Tyler Moneymaker’s fourth-down pass with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, dashing any hopes of a Monticello comeback in a hard-fought 26-20 victory for the visiting Falcons on Friday night.

The cast of characters is completely different, but the results were just the same.

For the past two seasons, Glover has played behind standouts Sam Roller and Chris Coiner, who led the Monticello defense to back-to-back Jefferson District and Division 3, Region II championships, including a Group AA title run in 2007.

With new coaches (William Monroe and Fluvanna) as well as a new team (Goochland) there are a lot of unknowns in the Jefferson District this season.

Enrollment changes will knock several area high schools down to lower divisions for the 2009 and 2010 football seasons.

The Louisa County boys outdoor track team picked up where it left off after winning the Jefferson District title, capturing the Region II crown earlier this week.

Micalah Sacre tossed a one-hitter to lead Orange County to a 1-0 victory over Monticello in the Jefferson District softball final on Thursday.

How cool is it that two former Monticello High School golfers are competing in the NCAA Division I golf tournaments this week?