Linemen push Monticello to win

After giving up 98 yards to Briar Woods running back Ray Taliaferro in the first half, Monticello found itself heading into a precarious situation at the half — trailing by three points.

At that point defensive tackle Shawn Winfrey and his fellow linemen had a talk.

“I told them that this game is not over,” Winfrey said. “This game is won in the trenches. If we can do our job, everyone else will be on their assignment and the game will be won.”

Winfrey was right. In the second half, the front four took over and helped guide Monticello to a 30-13 victory.

With just some basic halftime adjustments, the Mustangs managed to hold Taliaferro to just nine yards for the rest of the game.

In the first half Taliaferro made a living on cutbacks and stretching the ball to the outside, so the Mustangs decided to simplify things.

“We just went back to basic defense,” said defensive end Jace Brady. “Linebackers have B-gaps, tackles have A-gaps and defensive ends have outside contain. We played basic football and it worked for us.”

With the defensive line getting pressure inside from Winfrey, and Brady keeping Taliaferro from breaking loose outside, things opened up for Jake Pelton to go wild. Pelton had a pair of sacks and five tackles for losses.

“It helped us because they had to worry more about more than just the defensive line.” Winfrey said of Pelton stepping in to help on defense. “It also made them wonder who was coming. They never knew who, they never knew where.”

While Winfrey didn’t finish the night with the most tackles or sacks for the Mustangs, his work up front made everything click for the rest of the defense.

“With the inside guys, he’s impossible to block,” said Monticello coach Brud Bicknell. “He’s keeping our linebackers cleared and clean. Even if he’s not making a tackle he’s absorbing a double team.”

With just about every member of the defense making a key play, Winfrey stressed that this year’s team is different from last year.

“Our team unity is so much stronger this year,” Winfrey said. “We don’t have as many key players, but we do have team unity.”