Lubbock Monterey smothers Lubbock Coronado in District 2-5A, Division I matchup

While several Plainsmen enjoyed stellar performances, junior quarterback Jonah Reed made the engine hum smoothly by going 10-of-18 for 249 yards and four touchdowns.

“I’m feeling good,” Reed said, following the game. “It’s a good game to bounce back on, and get back to where we need to be for district.” 

Monterey head coach Jason Sims had plenty of praise for his signal caller.

“(Reed) is really starting to come into his own,” said Sims. “I feel like we’re getting to be very balanced and complete on offense. It’s fun to watch.”

To Sims, it was a complete team win. His squad enjoyed a fast start and made some pivotal first half stops to pull away early from the Mustangs. Monterey’s win wasn’t perfect, by any means, as the Plainsmen lost one of two fumbles and yielded 91 yards on 10 penalties.

“It was really good for us to get off to a fast start,” Sims said. “We got out of a hole and hit a big play, got a great stop, and went down and scored again. At that point, we knew a little pressure was off of us. We could relax and just start executing. We shot ourselves in the foot in some situations, but our defense played great. They kept (Coronado) from putting points on the board.”

For Coronado head coach Andrew Roy, the setback was one to be set aside in a hurry. With four games left in the regular season, the Mustangs still have enough wiggle room to turn things around.

“We just got to figure out what we need to do to play better,” Roy said. “(Against Tascosa last week), we came out on fire. Then, this week, we came out flat. It’s frustrating. We’ve gone through some adversity as a team, we have to figure it out.”

Monterey returned to even keel with the win, and improved to 3-3 overall with a 1-1 record in district play. 

The Plainsmen will look to keep the positive momentum rolling, facing off against Lubbock High (1-4, 0-1 in district) in the battle for the Silver Spurs. The meeting between Monterey and the Westerners is set for 7 p.m. next Friday at Lowrey Field at PlainsCapital Park.

On Friday at Dick Bivins Stadium in Amarillo, Tascosa handed the Westerners a rough 69-7 loss. 

Even though the latest edition of the rivalry could be looked at as “just another game,” Sims wants his team to enjoy the moment. He also wants his team to keep putting in the work.

“We want to have fun with it,” said Sims. “This is high school, we’re going to have memories. Lubbock High is much improved, and they have a great running back. It’s going to be a great football game. We got to get in and put our nose to the grindstone. Then, we need to do what we need to do.”

The Mustangs are still searching for their first win, dropping to 0-6 overall with a 0-2 district record.

At 7 p.m. on Thursday at Lowrey Field at PlainsCapital Park, Coronado will be for a test as they host Abilene High. The Eagles (4-2, 2-0 in district) slipped past Amarillo High via a narrow 24-21 outcome on Friday at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.

Roy is hoping that his Mustangs can catch the Eagles on little rest.

“Hopefully, we can get them in a short week and we get something rolling at home,” said Roy. “It’ll be a good one for us.”

From the get-go, it was all Plainsmen. Monterey’s first drive chewed up plenty of game clock, before Reed connected with senior wideout Cam Taylor in the back of the endzone for an 11-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt caught spectators and the Mustangs off guard, as junior receiver Noah Alexander took a direct snap into the endzone for the two-point conversion.

At the 6:18 mark, Monterey established a 7-0 advantage. 

Coronado couldn’t get much going, but did recover a muffed punt deep in Plainsmen territory. However, Monterey was able to prevent the Mustangs from making anything out of it. 

The Plainsmen then redeemed themselves on the final play of the first quarter, as Reed found senior Q Boyd on a tunnel screen. Boyd then turned on the jets, tore through Coronado defenders and took it to the crib from 71 yards out.

Heading into the second stanza, Monterey built up a 15-0 cushion. The Plainsmen were far from done.

Coronado went three-and-out, prompting Monterey to put more points on the board. Following a 44-yard pass and catch from Reed to Taylor, junior Legin Williams struck paydirt from two-yards out. Despite a missed PAT, the Plainsmen extended their lead to 21-0 with 8:03 remaining until halftime.

Senior Deuce Moore then made his presence felt for the Monterey cause, going on a 41-yard scamper before going 32 yards untouched into the endzone. With 5:55 left until intermission, the Plainsmen presided over a 28-0 lead. 

Moore would end up with 95 yards on just nine carries, while Williams contributed nicely with 58 yards on 14 attempts. 

“Our running backs are very important to us,” Reed said of his backfield. “I’m glad they can run the rock whenever we need to.”

For Reed, the explosive offensive display begins in the trenches.

“(The offensive line) is doing an amazing job, especially with (overcoming) injuries and adversity,” Reed said.

Sims elaborated for his quarterback.

“We feel like we have a very solid offensive line,” Sims said. “We (totaled 446 yards of offense) with the backup at tackle all night long. One of our 300-pounders is out right now, and when we get him back, that puts a little more juice in the tank.”

Coronado did prevent the shutout, with time winding down in the first half. With 1:06 on the clock, senior wideout Campbell Stanek reeled in a backward pass and connected with junior Graham Hardin for a 14-yard touchdown pass. 

“So, we ran it a lot in practice and we finally got a chance to run it,” Roy said of the trickeration. “(Stanek) always wanted to throw a touchdown pass, so we got an opportunity and we executed. That was one of the only bright spots of the night.”

Along with his TD pass, Stanek led the Mustangs with 21 yards on three carries and caught six passes for 23 yards. 

“He’s such a competitor,” said Roy. “If you know him, and you see him in anything he does, he competes. He was frustrated, because (Monterey) was covering him up and double-teaming him. They took him away and we didn’t get him a chance to get going.” 

With a little more than a minute left until half, the Mustangs trailed at 28-7.

Monterey quickly responded, as Reed fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Taylor with 27 seconds to go. At intermission, the Plainsmen held a sizable 35-7 lead.

Returning from the break, Monterey scored their final touchdown of the night. Reed and Taylor once again completed a touchdown connection, this time from 37 yards out with 6:06 left in the third. 

Overall, Taylor tallied five catches for 123 yards and three trips to the endzone.

“He’s an awesome receiver,” Reed said. “It’s an honor to throw to him. If I throw the ball up to (Taylor), he’s going to get it.”

Boyd had a solid night, as well, picking up 94 yards in two receptions.

Sims also tipped his hat to his defense, which limited the Mustangs to just six first downs, 18 yards on the ground and 69 yards through the air.

“I feel like our secondary played great,” Sims said. “(Coronado) has a great passing attack. But we needed to stop the run, and our defensive line and linebackers did a great job of that. They just have to capitalize on opportunities to pick the ball off. We have to get better in that area.”

Coronado bounced between senior quarterback JJ Villalobos and sophomore quarterback David Bawcum during the game. Villalobos was 9-of-16 for 37 yards, and Bawcum was 4-of-9 for 18 yards.

Monterey saw junior running back Zayden Ruiz get involved, rushing for 41 yards on 10 attempts.