James Monroe overcame: overcame shoddy officiating, the loss of their quarterback, and ultimately the loss of their coach to rally for a 50-14 victory over Battlefield District rival King George.
Right off the bat, this contest shaped up in stark contrast to recent weeks. For the first time all season, the Yellow Jackets went three-and-out on their opening drive. Starting QB Demontaz Brown seemed out-of-sync, and took several hits from an aggressive Foxes’ defense.
While the offense sputtered, the Jackets’ defense and special teams kept them in the game. With 2:05 remaining in the first quarter, the Foxes lined up to punt inside their own 20-yard line. Getting a great jump off the ball, a platoon of Jackets blocked the punt, sophomore linebacker Ryheem Perrin de-cleated the punter and senior defensive tackle Devin Atkins recovered the ball in the endzone for the score. Due to a dead-ball penalty after the score, JM elected to go for two. Ethan Preston punched in the conversion, and Jayem took an early 8-0 lead.
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Near the end of the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets once more generated some offensive momentum. Preston punctuated the drive with a 1-yard plunge on the first play of the second quarter.
Up 15-0, the wheels began to fall off for JM. King George running back Ronnell Johnson showcased some hard-nosed running inside the tackles. He put the Foxes on the board with a three-yard scoring run with 8:00 remaining in the half. The home team would pull within one just seconds before halftime. King George QB Xavier James capped a long drive with a three-yard quarterback keeper, but the Foxes were stopped short on the two-point conversion.
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On the ensuing kickoff, with just seconds remaining in the half, Coach Serbay placed A’Darius Brown on the up-team to field a potential squib kick. Sure enough, he returned it to the King George 37-yard line with 7.9 seconds left.
On the final play of the second quarter, a perfect throw by the much-maligned Demontaz Brown tickled the fingertips of receiver Kasine Conway, but fell unmercifully to the turf.
James Monroe led 15-14 at halftime, with King George to receive the second half kickoff. As the teams headed off the field, Jayem head coach Rich Serbay was visibly upset with the officiating crew, shouting out, “It’s a crime! It’s a crime!” in the direction of the head official.
When James Monroe trotted onto the field for its first offensive possession, there was an unexpected change in the line-up. Backup QB Julian Bumbrey took over under center. Starting quarterback Demontaz Brown did not play the second half due to suspicion of a concussion. The more-mobile Bumbrey served as a sparkplug for JM’s run game. Preston began to get it going, breaking off a 35-yard touchdown run with 8:48 remaining in the third.
It was a one-score game until A’Darius Brown took an end around, sprinted left and outran several King George defenders on the perimeter, finding the endzone from 21-yards out with 11:06 to play in the fourth. On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, Bumbrey faked the give to Brown (ala the previous play) and instead handed off to Preston, who pushed the pile from the two-yard line and just barely broke the plane of the goal line.
With a little over under ten minutes remaining to play, Julian Bumbrey completely took over the building. King George attempted to climb back into the game through the air. With 9:10 left on the clock, the Foxes dropped back to pass from their own 23-yard line. Pressure off the left edge flushed the QB to the right. Bumbrey jumped the wideout’s route and caught the ball in stride, streaking into the endzone unscathed to put JM up 36-14.
Less than two minutes later, Bumbrey did it again, picking off a deflected pass near midfield and reversing field 52 yards for a score.
"I knew I had to step up and become a leader when Demontaz got hurt," said Bumbrey. "I just had to bring my team back."
Then, something inexplicable happened. Following Bumbrey's second pick-six, Coach Serbay was ejected from the game. The official explanation was that a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty charged to the bench resulted in the ejection, but from this reporter's vantage point nothing warranted the sanction.
As Serbay walked off the field, the Yellow Jacket fans applauded loudly, showing support for their coach.
Preston scored his third TD of the game, a 29-yard rumble with 6:41 remaining, at which point the outcome had been decided.
Coach Serbay praised his team after the game. "I'm proud of you," Serbay addressed his squad in the post-game huddle. "You played like men in the second half."
James Monroe (5-0, 2-0 Battlefield) will travel to Caroline County High School, next Friday, Oct. 7.
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
JM- Devin Atkins 8-yard fumble recovery 2:05 (Preston Run)
Second Quarter
JM- Ethan Preston 1 Run 11:57 (Dit Kick)
King George- Ronnell Johnson 2 Run 8:00 (Johnson Run)
King George- Xavier James 3 Run :17 (Run Failed)
Third Quarter
JM- Ethan Preston 35 Run 8:48 (Kick Failed)
Foruth Quarter
JM- A. Brown 21 Run 11:06 (Preston Run)
JM- J. Bumbrey 31-yard INT return 9:40
JM- J. Bumbrey INT 47-yard INT return 8:51
JM- Ethan Preston 29 Run 6:41 (Dit Kick)
