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Jackets' season ends with bitter defeat DIVISION 3 Region I, Division 3 football playoffs: Poquoson at James Monroe Date published: 11/17/2007
BY JUSTIN RICE The stunned James Monroe Yellow Jackets were quiet on their sidelines watching Poquoson run out the clock in yesterday's Region I, Division 3 semifinal. The Jackets somberly shook hands with the Islanders, and then broke their team huddle with a half-hearted cheer. It wasn't supposed to end this way--a team with so much promise, so many weapons on offense. But the season is over for JM, and it was a bitter pill for the Jackets to swallow last night. "That's an understatement," said JM coach Rich Serbay. Poquoson (7-4), the fourth seed in the four-team Region I bracket, played stingy defense and used its running game to control the clock, handing the Jackets a 14-7 defeat at Maury Stadium. The Islanders will travel to Brunswick, a 21-12 winner against Nottoway, next week for the Region I championship. James Monroe, which reached the Division 3 state semifinals last year, ends the season 9-2. As the Jackets warmed up, they watched a small-looking Poquoson team run plays on the other end of the field. JM was confident, sure it was on the verge of another offensive outburst. "We came out thinking our name and our record was going to prove something," JM senior receiver P.J. Hayden said, "but it didn't turn out that way." All that confidence went out the window on one bad play in the second quarter. Poquoson had used a ball-control wing-T offense for a 19-play drive down to the JM 5-yard-line. There the Jackets stiffened, stopped the Islanders on third down, and blocked a 22-yard field goal try by Eric Nixon. The stop fired JM up and its offense responded with a promising drive. But on first-and-10 from JM's 40, quarterback DeVontae Atkins dropped back to pass and was quickly swarmed over. As he was being spun down for a 10-yard loss, he tried to throw the ball away. Instead, the pass went backward, all the way to JM's end zone. Poquoson lineman Danny Chavez raced to the ball and pounced on it for an easy touchdown. "I was trying to throw it out of bounds," Atkins said. "I don't know; I was just trying to make a play." The touchdown put JM back on its heels; the Islanders' defense did the rest.
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 11/17/2007
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