MONTESANO – Monte’s run defense and passing offense came together to produce a lopsided homecoming victory for the Bulldogs at Jack Rottle Field on Friday night.
Montesano kept their perfect record intact with a 40-0 win over Forks in game that featured 296 total yards and five take aways from the Monte defense.
The Bulldogs offense struggled at times in the first half but got off to a quick start when Shaydon Farmer found Braden Dohrman when he beat his defender on a go route. The 37-yard reception put Monte up 7-0 with 7:03 left in the first quarter.
Both offenses struggled for most of the first quarter, with Forks and Monte each squandering decent field position with fumbles late in the quarter.
Monte started to get things going when a long drive concluded with a 2-yard touchdown run from Farmer on a quarterback sneak to put Monte up 14-0 going into halftime.
The Bulldogs were hoping to get off to a faster start and Montesano’s Sam Winter said his team needed to come out with more intensity in the second half.
“We got off to a slow start but we mentally refocused at halftime,” he said. “We just tried to stay focused on the game plan and keep the tempo up and, eventually, we got the job done.”
Monte (5-0, 1-0) didn’t waste too much time kicking things into high gear in the second half, capping off their opening drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Farmer to Trace Ridgway to put Monte up 20-0.
On the defensive side of the ball, Monte remained stout against a physical Forks running game. The Spartans accumulated 140 yards on the ground but couldn’t find the end zone and only made three trips to the red zone.
The Spartans (3-1, 0-1) came in looking to run the ball had difficulty getting first downs on the ground. Forks’ Tristen Pisani often required more than one tackler to be tackled, but the Monte’s defense ultimately held the 5-foot-6, 220-pound back to 64 yards.
Winter ended the night with 80 yards receiving and a touchdown on offense. He also came up big on defense when he nabbed a pick six after jumping a corner route. His 40-yard interception return put Monte up 26-0 and gave the team a commanding lead halfway through the third.
Winter added another touchdown at 1:13 in the third quarter when he caught a 7-yard crossing route in the corner of the end zone to bring the score to 33-0.
“The safeties and corner were kind of backing off so we had a lot of room underneath,” said Winter talking about the team’s success through the air. “We had some great throws from Shaydon helped along with some great blocking up front.”
Farmer ended the night with 142 yards and three touchdowns through the air to go along with his rushing score.
Teegan Zillyet led Monte’s ground game with 143 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown.
Montesano will play one more non-league game against Woodland on Friday before playing three league games to close out the regular season.
Bulldogs head coach Terry Jensen said there is a lot of room for improvement but is glad his team set itself up for success in a competitive 1A Evergreen league.
“We played pretty well after the first quarter, but we’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “We have a talented Woodland team coming in here but its nice to get a league win. When you win in league you control your destiny and with only five teams in league, every game is critical.”
Forks 0 0 0 0 — 0
Montesano 7 7 13 13 — 40
Leading passer: Farmer (12-12-0, 142, 2 TD)
Leading Rusher: Teegan Zillyet (12-143, TD)
Leading Recciver: Winter (6-80, TD)
Montesano quarterback Shaydon Farmer, left, drops back to pass in the second quarter against Forks on Friday at Rottle Field. (Hasani Grayson | The Daily World)
