Monticello has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will welcome the Dove Creek Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m.
Last Friday, Monticello ended up a good deal behind Norwood and lost 32-14. The game marked the Buckaroo's lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Meanwhile, Dove Creek is ranked highly in their home state and last Saturday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of Escalante. Dove Creek simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Escalante 50-6 on the road. The Bulldogs' victory was nothing new given the team hasn't lost yet this season.
Dove Creek's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Josh Kibel led the charge by rushing for 104 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries, while also throwing for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Another rusher making a difference was Teagan Larimore, who rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Dove Creek was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 249 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 178 rushing yards in seven consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Dove Creek's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Nicholas Aragon and Sheldon Gardner. Another thorn in Escalante's side was Myles Ives, who picked up two sacks and made eight total tackles (5.0 for loss).
Monticello's loss dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Dove Creek, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.
Monticello was taken down by Dove Creek 58-18 in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Monticello, Gage Buffington (who rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries, and also picked up 83 receiving yards and a touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
