September 23, 2010

Monticello and Orange will hit the gridiron Friday night against each other in their Jefferson District openers, with both teams looking to bounce back after tough losses a week ago. The two squads both hope to get an early jump in the district standings.

The Mustangs enter with a 2-1 record and coming off 44-20 loss at Powhatan last week. Brud Bicknell's team topped Albemarle and Huguenot in its first two contests, before suffering their first loss. Monticello enters as an experienced group that has averaged 33.3 points per game in its first three contests. Running back Jesse Ayres has found the endzone eight times in the first three games and will be a big key to a Mustang win.

Orange is 1-2 on the year. The Hornets suffered a 50-3 defeat at James Monroe a week ago and hope to bounce back from that. John Kayajanian saw his team fall to Chancellor and top Culpeper in the Hornets' first two contests of the season. Wide receiver Amir Waller will be a key to Friday's match up, as he's widely regarded as one of the best athletes in the area. Quarterback Cameron Hughes will also be looked upon to perform and lead his team to the win.

Both of these teams finished 2009 with 4-6 records. The Hornets won last year's match up on their home field, 35-14, and Monticello will look to even the score this time around.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm at Monticello. We'll be there for Countdown to the Coin Toss on Friday during CBS19 News at 5:00, CBS19 News at 6:00, and Charlottesville Tonight. Be sure to catch scores and highlights of this match up along with all the other action from around the area on Friday Night EndZone, which kicks off at 11:35 pm on ABC16.