Westover closes Spring with dominant showing

ALBANY — The rain came first.

Then came Westover.

By halftime Thursday night at Hugh Mills Stadium, the Patriots had turned the annual Junebug Classic into a runaway, slicing through Monroe with big plays, deep passes and a quarterback who refused to let grief slow him down in a 34-0 victory over the Golden Tornadoes.

Even with fans dodging early raindrops and dark clouds drifting above Hugh Mills Stadium, a large crowd packed into the stands for Albany’s unofficial closing chapter to spring football — the annual rivalry game honoring longtime Dougherty County educator Milton “Junebug” Griffin.

And once Westover found its rhythm, the Patriots looked every bit like a team capable of lighting up scoreboards this fall.

At first, however, the points refused to come.

Westover marched deep into Monroe territory on its opening possession only to come away empty when quarterback Gabriel Hopper narrowly overthrew 6-foot-6 receiver Jo’Siah Daniels on third down before another perfectly thrown fourth-down pass slipped through a receiver’s hands in the end zone.

The Patriots moved the ball again on their next drive before a holding penalty stalled the possession, leaving the first quarter scoreless despite Westover dominating the field position battle.

The breakthrough finally came on the Patriots’ third possession.

Runs by Malik Young and sharp completions from Hopper to Jordan Joyner, Mikel Simmons and Daniels steadily pushed Westover inside the Monroe 5-yard line before Hopper slipped across on a one-yard quarterback keeper for the game’s first touchdown.

From there, the Patriots overwhelmed Monroe with speed and explosiveness.

Hopper connected with Joyner on the next possession to move Westover to the Monroe 4-yard line before circling the right side himself for another touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

The Patriots struck again late in the half after Daniels hauled in another big pass before Young raced around the left side deep into Monroe territory. With less than two minutes remaining before halftime, Hopper delivered a 33-yard touchdown strike to freshman Ahmad Mitchell that pushed the Westover lead to 21-0.

The second half only widened the gap.

Hopper threw two more touchdown passes in the third quarter, including a dazzling 56-yard sideline strike to Simmons. Catching the ball near the Monroe 44, Simmons outran the secondary to the end zone as the Patriots stretched the lead to 34-0.

Hopper finished with more than 270 passing yards and five total touchdowns despite playing through personal tragedy after losing his uncle earlier Thursday morning.

“Gabriel Hopper, who lost his uncle that morning, played a good game,” Westover head coach Corey Joyner said. “However, he missed two layups. He threw for over 270 yards with five touchdowns.”

Joyner praised his team’s energy and offensive balance while also pointing toward areas that still need attention before the regular season arrives.

“We played with great effort and with a great sense of urgency,” Joyner said. “However, there were some busted assignments that must be fixed immediately. I thought the overall performance was good. The one impressive part was that several players touched the ball on offense. We are going into the summer on a positive note so that is always a good thing.”

Monroe showed flashes during the second half.

Curtis Ware made a spectacular catch for a big gain, and the Golden Tornadoes pieced together a promising drive late in the third quarter that carried inside the Westover 15-yard line. But before Monroe could finish the possession, junior varsity players entered as the final quarter belonged mostly to reserves.

The Golden Tornadoes spent much of the night searching for offensive rhythm while trying to keep pace with a Westover offense that attacked vertically and rarely slowed down.

Now both teams head into the GHSA dead week before summer workouts resume June 1.

If Thursday night offered a glimpse of what Westover might become this fall, Monroe — and perhaps the rest of Albany — received the message early.