MONROE — West Montgomery quarterback Jaquil Capel said his team wasn’t motivated or intimidated by Monroe’s unblemished record, and it showed on Friday when the Warriors rallied from a 14-point deficit to eliminate MHS 17-14 in the second round of the 1AA football playoffs.

Capel, a sophomore who threw two touchdown passes, never lost composure when his team was trailing 14-0 late in the first half.

“We respected their record, but not their conference,” Capel said. “We knew they hadn’t played anybody as fast as us, or with the spirit we have.

“We were a little shocked offensively because we didn’t think their defense could hang with us. We had to adjust our gameplan a little bit and it worked.”

Monroe held a 14-0 lead with 56 seconds left in the first half when Capel attempted his first pass of the game. He found senior Xavier Parder sprinting down the right sideline, just a step ahead of his defender. Capel led him perfectly, and Parder never broke stride on a 62-yard touchdown to make it 14-7.

“That was one of the biggest plays of the game,” said Monroe coach Johnny Sowell.

Capel called an audible on the touchdown pass, making eye contact with Parder when he saw the coverage and then tugging on his mask. Parder adjusted his mask as well to indicate he understood.

“If the (cornerback) is pressing at the line, my receiver knows to go vertical and that’s what he did,” Capel said. “Xavier made a play — touchdown.”

Monroe (12-1) scored on its opening drive, covering 72 yards on eight plays. Shamiir Hailey had a 33-yard run down to the West 2, and Donnard Covington plowed across from a yard out with 8:25 still left in the first quarter to make it 7-0.

Covington scored again from 7 yards with 1:11 left in the first half to cap a 48-yard drive.

The Redhawks seemed in command at that point, but West snatched the halftime momentum by responding with the TD pass.

West (9-3) tied the score by going 48 yards on its opening drive of the third quarter.

The Warriors converted a fake field goal to keep the drive alive, with running back/punter Landon Jordan gaining 13 yards on a sweep left on a fourth-and-5.

Two plays later, Capel completed a 27-yard TD pass to Trevante Moore to tie the game at 14.

Monroe drove the ensuing possession from its 13 down to the West 16, but the Warriors’ Jake Gooch sacked MHS quarterback Jalen Sowell on fourth-and-10.

The Redhawks pushed the ball down to the West 26 on their next possession, but Sowell’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

The Warriors took over at their 26 and decided to go for it when faced with a fourth-and-1 at their own 35. Jordan was entrusted with the ball on a sweep left and broke a tackle in the backfield before bouncing outside and racing 60 yards down to the 5 — when Monroe’s Jamison Crowder pulled him down from behind.

“That was another big play in the game,” coach Sowell said. “That play really hurt us.”

Monroe’s defense held, but senior kicker Laquan Dennis split the uprights from 30 yards out for what would prove to be the game-winning points with 6:08 left in the fourth.

The Redhawks had one last gasp.

On third-and-10 from the Monroe 9, Sowell found senior Quontez Threatt on a diagonal route over the middle. Threatt gained 45 yards before being pushed out at the West 46.

A hook-and-lateral play that started with a short pass to Jamison Crowder, followed by a pitch to Hailey that added 20 yards, gave Monroe a first down at the West 20.

But four plays later, Monroe suffered an inopportune fumbled snap on a fourth-and 10. West took over and knelt twice in the backfield to advance to the third round.

Capel was in the stands as an eighth-grader when West Montgomery won the state championship in 2007.

He’s hoping to bring another state title back to Troy, only this time as a participant.

“This win is huge for us,” Capel said. “This lets us know we can beat anybody and make it back to the championship game again.”

Monroe has never won a state title in football, and this appeared to be the school’s best shot in a long time.

The Redhawks graduate 12 seniors, including Hailey, who went over the 200-yard rushing mark for the fourth time this season.

Hailey rushed 30 times for 212 yards on Friday, and finished his senior season with 2,174 yards in 13 games.

Covington, who had 13 rushing touchdowns in his final seven games, is also among the talented outgoing senior class.

“It was a great season,” coach Sowell said. “You hate for it to end this way at home, but we lost to a good team. It’s the second round of the playoffs and you’re supposed to have close games like this. We just didn’t make enough plays to win.”