Hurricanes Shutout the Patriots

It was an exciting night for the Monticello Hurricanes as they conquered the Oglethorpe County Patriots 35-0 last Friday. The Canes move to 3-4 overall with a 2-2 region record.

The Canes offense started out on a positive note for the night as #33 Chance Hope rushed in for an early touchdown to give the Canes a 6-0 lead. Their defense planned to continue this good form as #56 Cantz Watts forced a punt after hitting the Patriots quarterback in the backfield for a sack. A continual change of possessions after these two positive events led to the Canes entering the second quarter with a lead over the Patriots.

Both the Canes and the Patriots had a relatively slow start during the beginning of the second quarter. This slow start was turned into a quarter where the Canes were on fire after an interception by #14 Jay Fleetwood.

This interception caused a chain of events in their favor, starting with a big yardage pass by Fleetwood to #80 Dwanell Connor. This long pass led to Fleetwood throwing the ball to #13 Gavriel McClain for another Canes touchdown. A two point conversion after the touchdown by Fleetwood led to the Canes taking a 14-0 lead.

The Canes were not back on defense for long, as another interception by Fleetwood took the Canes defense off the field early. Receiving the ball after the interception, the Canes drove down the field and a fantastic drive was topped off by a touchdown run by #6 Mac Barton as they took a 20-0 lead over the Patriots. The Canes defense forced a turnover for the third time in a row thanks to #8 Colton Davis causing a fumble and #2 Jamel Gude recovering the fumble and taking the ball 30 yards before being taken down by the Patriots.

The Canes capitalized on the great field position gifted to them by the defense with Fleetwood throwing a touchdown pass to #82 Max Dotson. A two point conversion by Fleetwood lead to the Canes taking a very impressive 28-0 lead. Despite the short amount of time remaining in the half, the Canes defense refused to give up any yardage as Hope caused a fumble which was recovered by Gude. With no time on the game clock left, the Canes headed into halftime with a monstrous lead.

It was a very calm third quarter for both teams with the 28 point score gap separating them. The Canes defense looked to continue their first half shutout by forcing a countless number of Patriot turnovers and punts. On the offensive side of the ball, true noise was made after McClain’s one handed catch. The Canes headed into the final quarter of play after a defensively based third quarter still in the lead.

Both sides of the ball for the Canes were looking to put on a strong fourth quarter performance as the offense wished to add more points to the scoreboard and as the defense wished to withhold the shutout. The Canes offense succeeded in their goal as a rush by Hope led to an increase in their lead by seven, with a total score of 35 on the scoreboard. With the Patriots offense inches away from scoring a late touchdown and ruining the defensive shutout, #41 Jordan Mitchell stepped up for the Canes to make an interception. With only seconds on the clock after this interception, the Canes celebrated their second region win of the season after securing the victory.

It was an impressive night for many of the Canes offensive players, with Fleetwood passing for 180 yards, Hope rushing for 114 yards, Odalyus Thurman rushing for 70 yards, and McClain having 60 reception yards. However, the defensive side of the ball was just as impressive for the Canes as Gude, Hope, and Akrien Walker each had eight tackles for the Canes.

The Canes travel to Elbert County to face the Blue Devils on Friday, Oct. 19. Both the Canes and the Blue Devils hold a 2-2 region record, so both teams are surely looking to take the better of their opposition. The Canes kickoff at 7:30 p.m. in the Granite Bowl of Elberton.