Marquis Wilkerson intercepted it right back.
The defensive back intercepted passes on Skyline’s first two possessions of the second half, leading to 16 points that sparked Monroe to a 37-6 victory on Thursday, Sept. 10.
“Those were big plays for us,” Monroe coach Kyle Reed said of the two picks. “He’s a senior captain and great leader. He’s a competitor.”
Timothy Richards paid it off with a 9-yard touchdown run.
Just a few plays later, Wilkerson intercepted another pass to put Monroe in scoring position again.
That drive went awry, but Landon Loveland came up with a sack in the end zone for a safety that pushed the Trojan lead to 22-6.
Zamir Austin returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards for a score.
Loveland scored Monroe’s first TD of the night on a 1-yard plunge and Julian Espinoza had a 37-yard scoring run and a 2-point conversion.
Monroe’s other touchdown came on a 76-yard pass from Dalen Cosby to Tavin Parkhurst, the same duo who hooked up for a long pass to set up Loveland’s TD.
There was a long delay in the second half when Loveland had to be taken from the field on a stretcher following what appeared to be a hip injury.
Reed did not have an update on Loveland after the game.
“That was a really big bummer,” the coach said.
An interception by Tyrell Overstreet closed out Monroe’s first victory of the season after two losses.
“We needed to come out and get a win,” Reed said. “It feels really good. The kids played hard.”
THURSDAY’S TOP PERFORMERS
GIRLS GOLFElyse Rogier, Flat Rock: Shot 80 to take medalist honors in the first Huron League jamboree of the season at Green Meadows. Lauren Tolliver of St. Mary Catholic Central tried for second at 85. SMCC shot 388 to finish three strokes behind champion Grosse Ile. New Boston Huron (433) was fourth, Flat Rock (446) fifth, Milan (473) sixth and Jefferson (521) seventh. Airport did not have a full team. Also in the top 20 were Gracelyn Carter and Olivia Piepsney of SMCC (85), Olyvia Taylor of Huron (103), Madison Ditner of Airport (104), Ava Thornton of Milan (106), Trinity Fabrizio of Huron (106), Paige Biette of Huron (110), Charleigh Meggison of Milan (110), Finley Hines of SMCC (113), Clair Holton of SMCC (114) and Faith Allen of Huron (114).
Juliana Guzman, Gibraltar Carlson: Took third place in a Downriver League jamboree at Lake Erie Metropark with a 46. Teammate Hannah Cooper was fifth with 49 as the Marauders took third place.
WEDNESDAY’S TOP PERFORMERS
BOYS SOCCERCooper Jones, Jefferson-Erie Mason: Racked up two goal and four assists in a 7-3 victory over Airport. It was the first time coaching at Airport for Jefferson-Mason coach Bobby Smith. “They knew this one was special to me, coaching here at Airport for six years,” Smith said. “Jefferson hasn’t had a league win in a long time, and these boys were hungry to get this one.” Jonah Busen netted three goals and Sawyer Schaffer had the other two. Leland Swann and Lachlan Smith were credited with assists. Adam Ortega scored all three Airport goals. “Adam Ortega is an absolute monster,” Smith said. “He gave us problems all night. He might be the most talented individual player in our league.”
VOLLEYBALL
Mya Stahr, Airport: Racked up 14 kills, 9 aces and 20 digs as the Jets charged back after losing the first two sets to beat Grosse Ile 21-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-8. “Confidence, control and communication got us through the last three sets,” Airport coach Janelle Knaggs said. Other standouts were Darby Philbeck (26 assists) and Hope Sisler (15 assists, 9 kills).
Taylor Hesse, Flat Rock: Hit .729 with 8 kills as the Rams opened Huron League play by beating Milan 25-15 25-8 25-15. Sarah Giroux (14 kills, 13 digs) and Zoe Ryan (28 assists, 12 digs) posted double-doubles, Lily Klein notched 7 kills, 3 blocks and 6 digs and Riley Kujat contributed 4 aces, 3 kills and 4 digs.
Brianna Holbrook, New Boston Huron: Recorded 18 digs in a 25-20, 25-18, 25-9 loss to St. Mary Catholic Central. Mia Gannon added 5 blocks.
TUESDAY’S TOP PERFORMERS
BOYS SOCCERKaedin Hoxey, Dundee: Scored two goals in a 5-3 victory over Hillsdale. Nick Oliver, Drew Schwab and Victor Bensch had the other goals for the Vikings.
BOYS TENNIS
Henry Kliber and Carter Smith, Milan: Both won their singles matches without dropping a game in a 7-0 win over Pinckney. Noah Thornton and Joey Lubke also pitched a shutout at No. 2 doubles.
GIRLS GOLF
Elyse Rogier, Flat Rock: Shot 45 to finish 15 strokes ahead of anyone else in the field as the Rams pulled out a 238-242 triumph over Jefferson at Willow Metropark. Jordyn Lee led Jefferson with 58.
Courtney Cribbs and Sophia Parker, Summerfield: Shot 48 and 49, respectively, for the top two individual scores of the day in a Tri-County Conference jamboree at Deme Acres. Summerfield took the team title. Addyson Emch of Whiteford was third.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News:
