Cane Fall To Walnut Grove

The Monticello Hurricanes hosted Walnut Grove High School in their first official game of the season last Friday. In a game that went down to the wire, the Canes fell just short, with the final score being 20-15.

The Canes received the opening kickoff and began to drive down the field. Thomas Deraney completed a third and long to freshman Tyrin Lawrence deep down the field. Unfortunately a few plays later, the Canes fumbled the ball and the Warriors took over. They drove the ball down the field only to fumble the ball around the 35 yard line, giving the ball back to the Hurricanes.

The Warriors took the ball down to inside the five yard line, and the Canes stood them up three plays in a row. On fourth and goal, Walnut Grove eventually got into the end zone, and then converted the two point conversion, putting them up 8-0.

The Canes’ next possession began rough, with a few negative yardage plays. Then on another third and long, Deraney tossed up a deep pass pulled down once again by Lawrence, getting the first down. Jay Johnson then had a few nice runs up the middle before Austin McCullough scored the Canes’ first points of the night. Deraney connected with Colton Clay in the corner of the end zone on the two point try, tying the game at 8.

Walnut Grove shot right back, scoring with a pass over mid-field a few short plays after receiving the kick. The two point conversion attempt was failed, putting them up 14-8. With time dwindling in the first half, the Canes quickly began to drive down the field with Deraney connecting a few times with his receivers. They fell just short as the buzzer sounded, going into the half with a tight game.

The defense came out strong, forcing the Warriors into a punting situation. The Warriors tried a fake, but were stopped short of the first down marker, giving the ball right back to the Canes. The next few possessions, each defense held its own. It wasn’t until senior Garrett Scroggs made the clutch tackle for the Canes on a fourth down that the momentum changed. The very next play,

Deraney took the ball up the gut 69 yards for the score. Bryce Crawford tacked on the extra point, putting the Canes up 15-14.

The Warriors chewed up the clock on the next possession, capping the strung out possession with a one yard touchdown. The point after was missed, giving Walnut Grove a slim five point lead with the time winding down.

On what would end up being the last possession of the game for the Canes, they began to steadily drive the ball down the field. They eventually had the ball down inside the five yard line, but a costly fumble gave the ball back to the Warriors, who eventually just ran the remaining time off the clock.

After the game, head coach Doug Huff told the team that they had much to work on the next week in practice. He was proud of their effort, but he wanted to be able to fix a few problems he saw.

The Canes take on the Jackson Red Devils tomorrow, Sept. 4 in Jackson. Hope to see all the Canes fans there.