Defense and special teams made all the difference in Monticello’s win over Orange County on a rainy Friday night.

It was inevitable. Twenty-two minutes after pounding at Monticello’s defense, Western Albemarle finally saw a shot hit home. Yet with the Mustangs unable to retaliate to, or even break out of, the barrage on their defense, this, and a similar goal halfway into the second half was all the Warriors would need to clinch a 2-0 win.

A big reason for Albemarle’s success in its 35-13 win over Western Albemarle was the play of senior quarterback Jeremy Robinson.

On Friday night, Michael Graham and Monticello let it be known that last week’s victory over Group AAA Albemarle was no fluke. The Mustangs handed King George a 33-13 loss for their 10th consecutive victory dating back to last season.

It was anything but easy, but somehow Monticello overcame devastating penalties, a frustrating first half and the Central Virginia rains to nab a 19-12 victory over Albemarle.

Yet with the exception of two stoppages in play to tend to cramping sessions in each of his legs, the two-way standout from Albemarle that is listed favorably at 155 pounds had done his part.

High school football practices got underway this week and area coaches are excited about the season’s prospects. Among them is first-year Charlottesville High coach Chris Fraser, who took over the program from longtime coach Garwin DeBerry.

In the last day of Region II competition at the Boar’s Head Inn Sports Club on Wednesday, athletes from two powerful area tennis programs concluded their respective seasons.

The Region II individual girls tennis tournament got underway on Tuesday, and Western Albemarle’s Shannon Bayliss and the Monticello doubles team of Amanda Wagner and Lizzie Gaffney moved on to continue play in today’s final round.

Western Albemarle’s Aaron Myers was exhausted, but with two minutes left in a fourth overtime, the sophomore mustered one more run, flying towards Fluvanna County’s goal.

Whenever Micalah Sacre enters the circle for the Orange County softball team, the Hornets have a great chance to win. On Tuesday evening, Sacre lead her team not just in the circle, but at the plate as well, in a 2-0 win over William Monroe in the Jefferson District semifinals.

After a one-game playoff between Monticello and Orange County was needed to decide the Jefferson District’s regular-season softball champion, it’s anybody’s guess who will capture the tournament title.

Western Albemarle has built quite a legacy in the sport of tennis in its years in the Jefferson District, as both the boys and girls teams have won every title since the league was formed. The Warriors continued that streak in the 2008 championship on Tuesday at Piedmont Virginia Community College, as each team defeated rival Monticello.

The Western Albemarle boys lacrosse team is back in familiar territory. On Tuesday night, the Warriors dispatched Monticello 12-6, earning a spot in Jefferson District championship.

For a couple of years now, it’s largely been the Daniel Lieb show when Monticello’s lacrosse team takes the field.