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James Monroe's Mike Latney celebrates with the state championship trophy after the victory over Brookville. |
I WAS somewhere near the Walton's Mountain Museum when I lost control of my Passat. As I rounded a curve on U.S. 29 in Nelson County, on my way home from Saturday's thrilling state football championship victory by James Monroe High School, I encountered a patch of "black ice"--light snow, mixed with 26-degree temperatures, that had created a deadly sheen on the road north of Lynchburg.
With no brakes, I slid into a wayside area. Moments later, I gunned my VW across a patch of grass when I saw another car sliding toward the same spot--sideways.
On most days, this close encounter with nature would have shot my nerves. But thanks to the cliffhanger heroics of the JM football team, my nerves already were shot.
I called the office to warn others about the treacherous conditions, got back on the highway and crawled home without incident. But once on the highway, my thoughts quickly shifted from the bad weather to the indescribably sweet achievement of a team of never-say-die footballers.
In the space of three hours, on the field of Williams Stadium at Liberty University, JM fans went from despair (down 14-0 in the opening minutes) to joy (up by two touchdowns at the half) to depression (the Brookville team driving in the last seconds for a seemingly inevitable victory) to exultation (a saving interception by DeVontae Atkins to preserve the 50-46 James Monroe win).
All this came just a week after a 44-41 semifinal win at Maury Stadium that I thought never could be topped. But against all expectations, JM saved the most thrilling chapter of its gridiron saga for the last minute.
Even I, as a James Monroe alumnus and eternal optimist, headed to frigid Lynchburg Saturday with foreboding. After all, here was JM facing a 13-0 Brookville team from just outside Lynchburg practically on its home turf. My heart sank when I picked up Sports Illustrated Friday and a saw a reference to the Brookville quarterback as a top college prospect.
And then came the quick two-touchdown deficit in the opening minutes.
The defense tightened just enough and the offense exploded--a potent combination that produced a wild finale that will be talked about for decades.
This was not just another win in a 13-1 JM season--not with this many dramatic underpinnings. After all, you have
Every once in a long while, a moment in the athletic arena captures all the good things about teams that never give up on themselves. On Saturday in Lynchburg, as snow began to fall, James Monroe High School had such
Ed Jones: 540/374-5401
Email: edjones@freelancestar.com
