Indians roll past ’Stangs

In a rematch of a one-point thriller between Monticello and Powhatan a year ago, the visiting Indians rolled into Charlottesville on a mission Friday night. 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.

The duo combined for five rushing touchdowns in the first half as the Indians held a decisive 35-0 advantage at the break. Bradley carried the ball 15 times for 126 yards and two scores, while Minor ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, and finished with 110 rushing yards and 114 through the air.

“We knew they were going to be well-coached. They’ve got an excellent scheme, and they do things right, so we just really worked hard and the kids really came through,” said Powhatan coach James Woodson. “It was the first real huge challenge for us looking at the schedule, and we’ve been preaching it since way back in the summer, and the guys answered the challenge. They didn’t seem to be intimidated by the big game, they just came ready to play and that’s what we want.”

Monticello star running back C.J. Page was benched for Friday’s game due to disciplinary issues and was not the only Mustang whose services were not available. A handful of key Monticello players, including Jake Westbrook and Kevin Archer, were either injured or under the weather, which took away from an already-inexperienced group.

“We hoped to compete a little bit better than we did. We knew they were very good,” admitted Monticello coach Brud Bicknell. “It was just one of those nights where not much went right for us. You’ve got to be able to come out with who is ready and be ready to compete.”

Powhatan took the opening kick and went 73 yards on five plays in less than two minutes, capped off by a 40-yard touchdown run by Minor. The trend continued after Monticello was forced to punt its opening possession, as Bradley finished off another five-play drive with a 13-yard scamper to make it 14-0 with 6:26 to play in the first quarter, and the Mustangs got the sense that they were in for a long night.

Minor added a 24-yard score with 50 seconds left, and Powhatan was up 21-0.

“[Minor] just looked like he was on another level tonight,” Woodson said of his 5-foot-8 senior signal-caller. “He’s a tremendous athlete, and those two guys are really the key guys in our offense, and they’ve got to come through.”

To make matters worse for Monticello, starting quarterback Tyler Moneymaker was shaken up just before halftime, and limped off the field after attempting to secure a lost fumble, and was sandwiched by two Indians defenders. Moneymaker would return, but did not appear to be at 100 percent.

Next up for Monticello is its Jefferson District opener at Orange County next week, and Bicknell knows that his squad must regroup in order to defend its league title.

“It’s always a great game with [Orange], we’ll look at the film and come up with a plan and go out and try our best to execute it,” said Bicknell.

Powhatan (2-0) will attempt to continue to capitalize on a 10-2 season and playoff run in 2008, and will host Caroline next Friday.

“We’re just going to keep working hard, regardless of who we’re playing,” Woodson said.