MONTESANO–In a game where the winner likely moves on to win the 1A Evergreen League title, Montesano made the key clutch plays late to defeat the grinding Rochester Warriors 22-14 on Friday at Montesano High School.

The beginning of the game appeared to be typical of another Montesano rout as the Bulldogs (7-0 overall, 3-0 1A Evergreen) stopped the Warriors (5-2, 1-1) in the opening drive of the game and moved the ball quickly downfield on offense, covering 63 yards in just four plays and taking the lead on a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Tyson Perry to senior receiver Mason Fry up the seam.

A Fry pass to senior receiver Kole Kjesbu for two points put Monte up 8-0 late in the first quarter.

After forcing a rare Rochester punt, the Bulldogs extended the lead when Perry fed a short pass to senior running back Zach Timmons, who broke through the Warriors defense for a 64-yard touchdown.

Perry’s subsequent two-point run staked the Dogs to a 16-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Then Rochester’s offense got to work, chunking up five and six-yard runs to move the chains on a 14-play, 64-yard drive that culminated with a short scoring run from senior running back Ethan Rodriguez and took up nearly 10 minutes of game clock.

Maddox Rogers converted a two-point run to trim Monte’s lead to 16-8 with 1:49 to go in the first half.

And in a game of contrasting offensive styles, that proved to be too much time for Montesano, which got the ball inside the Rochester 5-yard line on a 51-yard sweep run from senior receiver Toren Crites and scored three plays later on a Timmons 1-yard run to go up 22-8 at the half.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano receiver Mason Fry (middle) scores on a touchdown catch in the first quarter of a 22-14 win over Rochester on Friday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.

“I think that’s part of the key to playing these guys, is getting ahead,” Monte head coach Terry Jensen said. “To be able to get a lead and now that (Rochester) is running the clock, it’s more of a hindrance to them.”

The second half was a different story as Monte’s offense went three and out, punting the ball back over to the Warriors early in the third quarter.

Rochester’s run game once again asserted its will, chugging down the field, picking up first downs, running the clock and keeping the ball out of the hands of Monte’s dangerous, quick-strike offense.

Another 14-play drive was capped by another Rodriguez 3-yard touchdown run.

A bobbled reception on the two-point conversion was ruled incomplete, preserving Monte’s precarious 22-14 lead in the third quarter.

Monte picked up a first down on its next drive, but was soon forced to punt to a Rochester offense that had not been stopped since the first quarter.

After a Crites punt rolled to the Rochester 4-yard line, the Warriors began charging down field in their slow, methodical way, dominating the line of scrimmage late in the game, moving inside the Monte 30 on a 17-play drive that burned off much of the fourth quarter.

With Rochester’s size and power-running game taking it to Monte’s “Maroon Storm” defense, Bulldogs defenders Carter Conklin-Smith and Kaden Stott stuffed a Xander Peterman run on 3rd and 1.

On fourth down, Monte’s D came up with the clutch play it had been searching for. Rodriguez took the handoff and was met behind the line of scrimmage by Crites, Timmons and a swarming Monte defense. The Warriors’ talented running back and University of Idaho commit tried to turn out of the tackle, but the ball popped loose, trickling backwards where Monte sophomore defensive back Karsten Mann fell on it, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the at their own 14-yard line with 5:58 left in the game.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano defenders Karsten Mann (11) and Carter Conklin-Smith (5) tackle a Rochester player during a 22-14 win over Rochester on Friday in Montesano.

“We knew they like to go to (Rodriguez) on third and fourth down. We were kind of expecting that,” Crites said. “We got some push and were able to strip the ball out. We knew what we had to do to stop them. We were just able to punch it out.”

“That turnover at the end, … We were looking at overtime, possibly, and when (Rochester) runs that offense, that’s a pretty good overtime offense for high school football,” Jensen said. “They were just wearing us down, they have a big line and we’re not very big. We had to get a turnover there.”

With the game in its hands, Monte’s offense needed to do something it had not done in the second half, sustain a drive.

The Bulldogs, which had just one first down in the second half to that point, got one early in the drive when Crites rushed for 12 yards and a first down.

Monte faced a 3rd and 1 at their own 33 when Timmons powered forward for three yards to keep the drive alive.

Timmons then scampered down inside the Rochester red zone on a big run, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty on Montesano.

Now facing a 1st and long at their own 27 with just over two minutes to play, a Timmons run was read by the Rochester defense, pushing the Bulldogs back two yards and creating more nervous energy from the Monte faithful.

One play later on 2nd and 21, a Monte offense that had been searching for its much-needed clutch play got it when Crites took a handoff from the slot on a sweep and broke around the left edge for a 27-yard pick up and first down inside Warriors territory.

It was Monte’s longest play of the second half.

“We had our run-zero (play) going well tonight. When we needed a big play, we were able to go to that,” Crites said of the clutch conversion. “We got some good blocks and were able to execute. I saw a big hole open up. … The lineman logged up the hole well and I was just able to burst through.”

The Bulldogs were able to kill clock and burn Rochester timeouts before the punting the ball over to the Warriors at their own 33-yard line with just 15 seconds remaining.

It was arguably Monte’s most impressive drive of the game, considering the situation, despite it didn’t produce any points.

Rochester’s final few desperation passes fell incomplete, securing Monte’s victory.

“They are a great football team with what they do. They are very good at it,” Jensen said of Rochester. “It’s a credit to our staff, assistants and our players. … I’m so proud of our staff for how hard they worked to get them ready and how hard our kids competed tonight.”

Montesano had 303 yards in the game, led by Perry’s 9-of-14 passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Crites’ six carries for 97 rushing yards.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano quarterback Tyson Perry (left) looks to pass while running back Zach Timmons blocks during a 22-14 win over Rochester on Friday in Montesano.

The Maroon Storm bent, but didn’t break as while the Bulldogs defense struggled to stop Rochester’s potent running game, the Warriors’ longest play from scrimmage was 14 yards.

Rochester’s running attack was held to 209 rushing yards, well below their average of 388 entering Friday’s game, and had 16 first downs compared to seven for Monte.

“It means a lot,” Crites said of the win, referencing last season’s 16-12 loss at Rochester. “Last year after how the game went, we all had a bad taste in our mouths. We all wanted to come out here and win. … It’s good that our defense got beat down like this because you learn how to be tough. It kind of reminds me of last year. We had to get better by getting beat down and learn how to be tough. I think that’s a huge advantage for us. Getting the win while also being tough and learning how to take a punch in the mouth.”

With the win over No. 8 Rochester, the Bulldogs – the third-ranked team in the Washington State Football Coaches Association’s 1A-class poll – can lock up a high seed in the state playoffs with wins in its final two games of the season.

Monte travels to play Nooksack Valley in a non-league test at 7 p.m. on Friday at Nooksack Valley High School.

Rochester 0 8 6 0 – 14

Montesano 8 14 0 0 – 22

Scoring

First quarter

Montesano – Fry 17 pass from Perry (Kjesbu pass from Perry), 3:50

Second quarter

M – Timmons 64 pass from Perry (Perry run), 11:47

Rochester – Rodriguez 3 run (Rodgers run), 1:49

M – Timmons 1 run (pass failed), 0:36

Third quarter

R – Rodriguez 3 run (pass fail), 4:32

Fourth quarter

None

Passing: R – Singleton 0-3-0-0. M – Perry 9-14-0-149.

Rushing: R – Rodriguez 22-98, Rodgers 15-80, Peterman 19-57, Singleton 3-(-26). M – Crites 6-97, Conklin-Smith 4-24, Timmons 8-22, Perry 1-1.

Receiving: M – Timmons 6-65, Crites 3-40, Fry 2-29, Kjesbu 2-15.