Monticello quarterback Mike Graham? You can call him Sandy Koufax.

Takeem Hedgeman has a Catfish Hunter thing going on. Jacob Pelton is more like David Cone. Daniel Lieb is rocking a Dennis Martinez vibe. Jake Miles is the David Wells of the group.

Perfection. The Mustangs embodied it on Friday night.

In baseball, it happens when the defense makes 27 consecutive outs in a single game without allowing a baserunner of any sort. But is there any kind of equivalent of a perfect game in football?

At least on the offensive side, it seems like scoring a touchdown on every possession is about as close to a perfect game as you might get. That’s exactly what Monticello did at Orange County in its 61-42 victory to open Jefferson District play.

The Mustangs failed to score on a few of their extra-point attempts and two of their drives were stopped by the clock running out at the end of each half, but otherwise MHS achieved perfection. It’s the first time I have ever seen something like that happen in a football game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the last.

It took a complete offensive effort for the Mustangs to make it happen.

Sure, Hedgeman was his usual durable and productive self, carrying the ball 44 times for 290 yards and setting a school record with six rushing touchdowns. But Hedgeman accounted for less than half of the Stangs’ offensive production. Graham threw for 178 yards and when the signal-caller went down with an ankle injury in the third quarter, backup Pelton came in and didn’t miss a beat, completing all four of his passes for 102 yards of his own. Add some rushing yards from Pelton, Anthony Matos and William Thompson and the Mustangs finished with 622 yards and nine touchdowns.

The MHS offensive line play was another big reason the production was so high against Orange. Miles, Jace Brady (who left the game in the second half with an injury), Wheeler Young, Derek Belew and Tyler Mitchell opened holes for Hedgeman and gave the QBs enough time to throw all night as the Mustangs lit it up.

It’s also important not to forget about Brud Bicknell and the coaching staff. Hedgeman certainly didn’t.

“Our coach is incredible,” Hedgeman said after the game. “He sees everything. It’s like he sees stuff before it happens. He knows what’s going to happen, he calls the perfect plays and all we have to do is execute.”

Hedgeman was giving the credit to everybody he could think of on the team after Friday’s game. He knows he’s getting much of the attention so far, and deservedly so, but the senior understandably wants to spread the love around to his teammates and coaches. But once Hedgeman started crediting the water boy for a fantastic performance, I started to grow a little skeptical of his sincerity.

Seriously though, it’s obvious MHS is more than just a one-man show. Something like Friday’s perfect game wouldn’t have happened if that was the case.

Just ask Orange County. QB Quintin Hunter did pretty much everything humanly possible on the offensive side of the ball for the Hornets, gaining 153 yards on the ground and 361 more through the air. It helped having a dependable receiver such as Carnell Perkins haul in 13 passes for 221 of those yards, but much of the credit has to go to Hunter. He was scrambling all night, but still made the big throws on the run and turned broken plays into 6-yard gains. Never mind the fact that Hunter isn’t even playing his natural positions of wide receiver and defensive back.

Look for more on Hunter—his performance, his potential and how Orange will look to utilize him the rest of the season—in the print edition of The Daily Progress later this week.

As impressive as Hunter was on Friday night, he and the Hornets are at the bottom of the district while the Mustangs have soared to the top. Not the very top, though. That position belongs to a Western Albemarle team that has started district play with two consecutive victories.

Putting forth another strong defensive performance, the Warriors did just enough to beat the defending district champion Louisa County squad, capitalizing on a late Stephen Schuler-Max Pfeifer hookup to top the Lions.

While Western’s two district wins have come against Louisa and William Monroe teams that have a combined record of 0-10, they count as much in the standings as any other JD win. The Warriors are alone atop the district and get to enjoy it for at least two more weeks. Following a Friday night off, Western takes the field again when it hosts another winless team from the Jefferson District—Fluvanna County—on Oct. 12.

And in Stanardsville, the streak continued Friday night. It’s up to 21 games straight now for WMHS without a win. Charlottesville was the latest team to take down the Greene Dragons, snapping its own season-opening losing streak of four games to take its first victory of the year. LaCorie Steppe was back after he left the Sept. 21 game against Albemarle with a shoulder injury, picking up 158 yards on the ground and a fourth-quarter touchdown score in the win. The Black Knights could a performance like that again this Friday at Fluvanna County as CHS tries to make it two in a row.

Meanwhile, Albemarle, a team that absolutely annihilated Western and Charlottesville (beating the two teams by a combined margin of 65 points) suffered an embarrassing, 40-14 loss at home in its district opener to North Stafford. Sure, the Patriots can blow out schools such as Western and Charlottesville, but this early sign points to the Patriots struggling against their fellow Commonwealth District competition. Albemarle is undoubtedly a solid team, it just blew a good opportunity to open the CD season strong and still has a lot to prove.

Madison County, St. Anne’s-Belfield and Fork Union all suffered somewhat unexpected losses as well. With all respect to Blue Ridge, which came through with a decisive victory on the road against Covenant, the week’s biggest victory outside of the Jefferson District came in Lovingston, where Nelson County opened its Dogwood District schedule with a 29-28 win over Altavista. NCHS quarterback Thomas Brown, who has scored touchdowns this year by returning a kickoff, running back an interception to the house, rushing the ball and throwing the ball, succeeded on a 2-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter to provide the difference in the victory.

The Governors managed to win a high-stakes, district game despite trailing in the fourth quarter. That says a lot about that group. It also says enough for me to include them in this week’s Central Virginia Top Five.

With Albemarle and Orange County both getting thumped at home and Blue Ridge scoring a road win that will help its VISFA Division II playoff hopes, I decided to bump up Chad Byers and the boys to No. 2. Still, I think there is very little that separates the second, third and fourth teams in this poll. Monticello, of course, is on a level of its own. Here we go:

1. Monticello (4-0): A little improvement on defense and this team… Hell, what does it even matter? Who needs defense when you score a TD on every possession?
2. Blue Ridge (3-1): QB Chad Byers has a gun for an arm and his receivers know how to get open and make plays after the catch. This team is fun to watch.
3. Albemarle (2-2): The Patriots need to prove they can hang with the big boys.
4. Orange County (2-2): Quintin Hunter and the Hornets have enough talent to win all six of their remaining games.
5. Nelson County (3-2): The Governors are digging in as Dogwood play continues at perennial power Gretna.

As usual, look for extensive prep football previews for all of this week’s games in the print edition and on DailyProgress.com Friday morning.

Think I missed something notable from last week’s action? Shoot me an e-mail at .

Do you want to know the biggest buzz of the night in the press box? Many armchair quarterbacks asked why Virginia ran a fake field goal in the fourth quarter. The point is debatable, but why not ask this: Why did Pitt fail to stop it? The Panthers put up little, if any, effort on that play after blocking a PAT in the first quarter and gaining great pressure on other plays. What if the field goal was blocked, returned for a score and the game stood at 37-21. Pitt, a walking onside kick waiting to happen, would have been given new life. ... East Carolina did the same thing to Virginia last year and it mattered very little for vegans outside of Vegas that took some sick teaser on the over or under. Did Pitt expect Virginia to take a knee with over 5 minutes left? I am a fan of the fake call – even if you fail to convert, the opposition must go 90-plus yards for a TD.
But some went further, wanting to argue that Virginia exposed its playbook to future opponents. Last time I checked, Vic Hall was a VHSL record-setting quarterback. Coaches from Wyoming to Winnipeg know a thing or two about Vic Hall. Now future foes have to worry about the ability of Hall to pass in that situation. ...
My guess is that the biggest fan in the entire ordeal is kicker Chris Gould. The senior earned an extra split-second or two on every kick thanks to the call from Mike Groh.

Thanks to wins Saturday by Virginia and UConn, multiple sources said the two teams will play at 7 p.m. in Charlottesville on Oct. 13. The game would be on ESPNU. The official announcement will not be handed down until Monday, but slapping the Cavaliers and Huskies on TV makes far more sense than the Pitt-UVa game. ... If the game is not tabbed for TV, expect Virginia coach Al Groh to pick 3 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. as the optimal time to help pack Scott Stadium with loud students. ... After Saturday night’s game, Virginia offensive lineman Eugene Monroe confirmed that he is “day-to-day,” and went as far as to say that he could have played in the game if the situation presented itself. ... Groh took over a minute in his press conference to praise Gordie Sammis for his work as a starter and for his character. A quick conversation with Sammis exposed he was under the weather just a tad. He never showed it, relished in the moment with a massive smile and he has a videotape that he can show his kids to prove it. 

Give some love to Virginia tight end Tom Santi. With two first-half catches, the senior is now tied with former tight end Bob Bischoff for fourth in receptions made by a player at that position in the program. Santi has a long way to go to catch the legend known as Heath Miller. “Big Money” had 144 receptions and left with a year of eligibility remaining. Santi, however, may be able to reach TE Bruce McGonnigal, who logged 103 career catches in a Virginia uniform. ... Am I crazy to think Virginia has an outside shot at being ranked? Georgia Tech did beat Clemson and a large collection of ranked teams lost earlier today. The Cavaliers will likely need a win over Middle Tennessee State to get the needed nods before they make it (No. I am not a voter in that one; I get to take part in the women’s basketball poll for the AP). 

I find out very odd that all the “Groh Must Go” signs have vanished. Sure, they are a losing streak from returning but everybody seems to love a winner and Virginia coach Al Groh will be two wins from Boise in 27 minutes. ... The Panthers’ first drive was stalled after a Clint Sintim sack. The Cavaliers’ drive that followed was not much better - quarterback Jameel Sewell threw a pair of passes intended for the hot dog vendor in Section 517. At this point it would appear that true freshman Peter Lalich will not be used any time soon. So much for the ole’ rotation at quarterback.