Monitor Editor
PIERSON— Conner Guy and Caleb Moncrief connected on two touchdown passes and Dalton Hollingsworth returned a punt for a touchdown in Keystone Heights’ 50-7 win over host Pierson Taylor on Oct. 21.
The Indians (8-0), who travel to play Jacksonville’s Stanton Prep on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m., have now outscored their opponents 364-69 this season.
In addition to the two scoring passes to Moncrief, Guy also connected with Bryar Schenck for an 18-yarder, giving the Keystone quarterback three completions for 80 yards on three attempts, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Indians got on the board first with a four-play drive covering 45-yards and coming after the Keystone defense denied Taylor on a fourth-and-1 from their own 45. Hollingsworth and Tyler Jenkins rushed two times each during the drive, with Hollingsworth completing the campaign with a 2-yard run with 7:04 to go in the first quarter. The Wildcats kept Jenkins out of the end zone on the attempted two-point conversion, and Keystone led 6-0.
Taylor (2-5) managed a first down on its ensuing drive, but was forced to punt after stalling on the Indian 49.
After Hollingsworth couldn’t advance the ball from the Keystone 27 on first-and-10, Logan Williams took a handoff from Guy to the left, then cut back to the right before reaching the line of scrimmage. The misdirection completely fooled the Taylor defense, allowing Moncrief, Mason Dicks and Tyler Duncan to collapse the right side of the defensive line and springing Williams for a 73-yard touchdown. Hollingsworth, who rushed for 48 yards on eight carries, reached paydirt for the two-point conversion, and Keystone led 14-0.
Williams finished with 84 yards on four carries.
Taylor’s only score came on the ensuing drive: a nine play, 68-yard effort that straddled the first and second quarters. Trent Reade capped the effort with a 40-yard run. Ubaldo Hernandez added the extra point, and Taylor closed Keystone’s lead to 14-7.
Two unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties for celebrating after the touchdown forced Taylor to kick off from its own 12.
Williams’s return gave Keystone the ball on the Wildcat 13. Three plays later, Guy and Moncrief connected on their first TD, a 10-yard pitch-and-catch with 7:56 remaining in the half. Hollingsworth broke through for the two-point conversion, and Keystone led 22-7.
On its next drive, the Wildcat offense again showed potential, gaining two first downs before stalling on the Indian 41. From there, the Wildcats punted to Hollingsworth, who caught the ball on the 12 and raced all the way to the end zone. Williams took it in for the two-point conversion, and Keystone led 30-7 with 4:05 left in the half.
Taylor started its next drive on its own 28 and got an assist from a personal-foul penalty. After two more plays that netted 5 yards, Taylor went to the air. Williams made a diving interception to stop the drive.
On the next play, Guy and Moncrief connected again, with Moncrief dragging defenders into the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown. An illegal-blocking penalty made the Indians retry the two-point conversion from the 18-yard line, but they were successful anyway, with Guy connecting with Schenck and giving Keystone a 38-7 halftime lead.
Keystone received the kickoff to begin the second half, and Jenkins gave the offense prime field position, returning the kick to the Taylor 20. Four plays later, Jenkins scored on a 2-yard plunge, giving the Indians a 44-7 lead.
The Indians’ final score came on an eight-play drive in the fourth quarter, covering 77 yards and consuming over eight minutes of clock. Jackson Williams, who rushed for 51 yards on three carries, completed the drive on a 12-yard run. An errant snap foiled Luke Snider’s extra-point attempt.
Keystone finished with 305 yards, rushing for 225 yards on 25 carries — a 9-yards-per-carry average.
Hollingsworth led the defense with nine tackles, while Jenkins and Snider each had six tackles. Moncrief, Sam Ulsch and Logan Williams each had five tackles.
Keystone Head Coach Chuck Dickinson said he’s not sure, but this could be the first-ever Indians team to be 8-0. Keystone never had an 8-0 record in the history of the Lake Region Monitor, which began publishing in 1973.
The Indians would appear to be in good position to move to 9-0 when they take on Stanton Prep on Oct. 28. The Blue Devils (0-8) have scored only 16 points all year, getting shut out five times.
Stanton is coming off an open week. The Blue Devils played Lafayette prior to that, losing 51-0.
