There was a raucous crowd at Monarch Stadium in Moundsville for the John Marshall Monarchs home opener. The Monarchs would be taking on a cross river opponent in the Union Local Jets. It would be the first time these two teams would face off on the gridiron. Though familiar faces were on the sidelines as Monarch boss Mark Cisar coached Union Local head man Bernie Thompson during his stint at Union Local.
Union Local received the opening kickoff and methodically drove down the field led by quarterback Isaiah Tomolonis who scored on a qb sneak, while also providing runs of 20 and 21 yards on the Jets opening drive. Tomolonis proved to be a menace for the Monarchs all night, escaping pressure and completing passes, along with scrambling down field when receivers were not open. Tomolonis finished the game with 89 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns, along with 2 passing touchdowns.
John Marshall came right back on the next drive as they went to Maverick Lemasters early and often during the first drive, which ended with Lemasters scoring for the Monarchs. Conor Fitzpatrick’s PAT tied the game at 7. The Monarch defense came up big with a three and out on the next Jets drive. This stop led to a Conor Fitzpatrick 45-yard field goal. After the end of the first quarter John Marshall led Union Local 10-7.
The second quarter was all J-E-T-S as they rolled on offense and came up with some key turnovers on defense. A 47-yard Tomolonis to Billy Schumacher pass led to a short td run by Brody Perzanowski who finished with 103 yards and this touchdown. Peyton Causby picked off a pass on the next Monarch drive to set the Jets up near midfield. On the next offensive play Tomolonis hit Gannon Kerns who went in from 43 yards out, Johnny Sabinski nails the point after to put the Jets up 20-10.
Union Local was not done in the second quarter. Tomolonis would score his second rushing touchdown on the night, by scoring from 37 yards out. The Jets went into the break with a 26-10 lead. It looked as though the Jets would cruise to a victory.
John Marshall had different thoughts, though, as the adjustments made at halftime allowed the Monarchs to get back into the game. Leaning on Lemasters (30/208/2) again on the drive, the Monarchs scored when quarterback Jackson Helms snuck in from the 1, Helms then hit Demario White for the 2 to pull the Monarchs to within 8 at 26-18.
A big play again was the key to the Jets’ next drive. Tomolonis hit Billy Schumacher again, this time for a 54-yard touchdown. The Jets now led 32-18 and again seemed to put the game away. The Monarchs had different ideas as their offense came up big late in the 3rd quarter. Lemasters scored from 4 yards out, Fitzpatrick hit the point after to make the score Union Local 32 John Marshall 25 with just 22 seconds left in the 3rd.
The 4th quarter was nearly all defense, with punts, interceptions, and sacks on both sides. Union Local would seemingly end the game with a fourth down stop deep in their own territory with just over 2 minutes to go. Perzanowski would then rip off a 53-yard run with a minute and a half to go which looked like it would end the game. After a Monarch timeout the Jets lined up in the shotgun to look to run the ball and leave Moundsville with a win. The ensuing snap would go off Tomolonis’s leg and end up in the hands of the Monarch defense.
John Marshall would then go to work on offense. Helms hit passes of 13 and 11 yards respectively, then Lamasters ran off tackle for 20 yards to give the Monarchs a shot. Helms then looked to White in the endzone, with contact on the play the Jets Kerns came up with an interception in the endzone to end the Monarchs comeback bid. Union Local would come away with the 32-25 victory in a closely contested game.
The Jets move to 3-0 on the season and next will take the road to face off against Harrison Central. The Monarchs fall to 0-2 on the season and will host Bridgeport (WV) this coming Friday.
Photo by Robert Ovies
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