James Monroe Seizes Region Crown with Complete Team Effort

James Monroe head coach Rich Serbay said he felt like a million dollars. Star running back Ethan Preston described the experience as a rush of relief. Starting quarterback Demontaz Brown was at a loss for words. Regardless of individual reactions, there's no denying James Monroe's 45-7 victory over York High School in the Region I championship game was the epitome of a complete team effort.

Fans supporting both schools flooded Yorktown's Bailey Field, with an incredible number of orange-and-black supporters braving the two-and-a-half hour commute from Fredericksburg.

York won the toss and elected to receive, and James Monroe forced a punt on the Falcons' first possession. After the Jackets went three-and-out and lined up to punt on 4th-and-5, York jumped offsides, giving JM a new set of downs and along with it all the momentum they would need.

After matriculating the ball into the red zone, Demontaz Brown appeared to throw a 30-yard touchdown pass, but the play was nullified due to an illegal shift. Just four plays later, Ethan Preston opened the scoring with a 5-yard run with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter. Preston followed up with an 11-yard scoring scamper with 9:23 remaining in the half, and Julian Bumbrey returned an interception 41-yards for a touchdown to give JM a commanding three-touchdown lead.

A'Darius Brown had two defensive touchdowns, including a 75-yard fumble return on a muffed option play mid-way through the third quarter. 

Brown, Kasine Conway, and Preston all saw significant time on the defensive side of the ball, a rare occurence this season. Coach Serbay cited the prowess of York quarterback Alex Johnston as necessitating the use of his most explosive playmakers on both sides of the ball.

"We put our best playmakers on the field out of respect for the Region I Player-of the-Year," said Serbay. "He's [Johnston] a great quarterback, but we put pressure on him and we had our best athletes in the secondary making plays all over the place."

The Jackets picked off Johnston four times, with Bumbrey, She'Mar Ellis, A'Darius Brown, and Daniel Armstead all netting interceptions.

As if the prospect of a regional championship wasn't enough motivation, the Yellow Jackets had another motive in mind: erasing the memory of last season's 42-7 defeat at the hands of the same York squad.

"It was opposite of last year," said James Monroe senior tackle Nelson King about the emotions surrounding the win. "It's reversed order, and it feels a lot better this way than it did last year."

King also indicated the Yellow Jackets will keep their sights set on the next opponent, Kettle Run.

"We're already focusing," said King of the next week's game. "Serbay doesn't let us think about the game ahead. We're thinking about Kettle Run. We'll be ready to go to Fauquier next Saturday."

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

JM- Ethan Preston 5-yard TD run (Dit Kick) 3:31

Second Quarter

JM- Ethan Preston 11-yard TD run 9:23 2nd (Dit Kick)

JM- Julian Bumbrey 41-yard INT Return 8:26 (Dit Kick)

JM- David Dit 32-yard Field Goal 2:24 

JM- Daniel Armstead 8-yard TD run 1:12 (Dit Kick)

JM- A'Darius Brown 50-yard INT Return for :10 (Dit Kick)

Third Quarter

JM- A'Darius Brown Fumble Return TD 4:00 3rd (Dit Kick)

Fourth Quarter

York- Alex Johnston two-yard pass to Anthony Honey (:52)

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