Page runs wild for Monticello

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.

“It was really important [to get a win] — we haven’t had a win in a minute,” Page said of the big victory. “So, I think this was a boost, I think this will carry us on.”

Page, who came into the contest averaging 124 yards per game, rushed 35 times for a season-high 291 yards, just four days after being held to a season-low 47 yards against Western Albemarle. He passed the 1,000-yard mark on Friday, finishing with 1,035 yards.

“I feel really good for our kids,” said Monticello coach Brud Bicknell. “They’ve battled hard and haven’t had much to show for it, so to get a win, I’m just really excited for them.”

Page carried the ball five straight times to propel the Mustangs’ opening possession into the red zone, but coughed up the ball into the hands of Charlottesville’s Larry MaGruder. After another Mustang turnover led to a Black Knights safety, Page made good with a 26-yard scamper to give Monticello a 7-2 lead.

Charlottesville’s Benj Wilhelm had his pass intercepted by Jake Iverson early in the second quarter, and Page again carried the Mustangs inside the CHS 20, but fumbled for the second time in the half.

CHS capitalized just before halftime, as junior Davonte’ Taylor scored from 22 yards out with just over a minute to play. The extra point failed, and Charlottesville maintained a slim 8-7 advantage at the break.

“One of our kids said aptly at halftime, he said we’re playing ourselves, we’re beating ourselves,” Bicknell said. “We were making some costly errors, so eliminating that was certainly why we were able to knock them off the ball and have a really solid second half.”

The team responded out of the gates and wasted no time. Page and fullback Aaron DiGregorio led the team down the field on four plays in 47 seconds, capped off by Page’s second TD from six yards away.

Page, who rushed 13 times for 130 yards in the quarter, took it in from 35 yards out on the Mustangs’ next drive, and Monticello took a 20-8 lead. Maurice Jackson of CHS fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Monticello recovered at the Black Knights’ 20, which set up a 2-yard Page touchdown, and the Mustangs began to pull away.

“[Page] was mentally tough enough to put the two fumbles behind him, and a lot of credit goes to him for that,” said Bicknell.

Charlottesville dropped its third straight game after a promising start, and now sits at 3-5 on the season, 2-3 in the Jefferson District. Xavier Porter had a big night, leading the Knights with 161 rushing yards on just 12 carries.

Bicknell was happy to see his team’s running game and overall team morale get back on track, and knows that the trend must continue for Monticello (3-5, 2-3) to avoid its first losing season since 2001.

It won’t get much easier, as the Mustangs travel to Louisa County next week.

Bicknell isn’t giving up on a big finish and return to the postseason.

“You never know what could happen with expanded playoffs and everything,” he said, “so we’ll just take care of ourselves and see what happens.”