Instant Replay Downs

Football

1ST DOWN

Big Switch Makes For Big Season

James Monroe Coach Rich Serbay said there were plenty of people in the Fredericksburg area who wondered why he made a surprising switch just before the season, moving DeVontae Atkins from quarterback to wide receiver. In 2007, Atkins was a first-team Virginia AA Region I selection at quarterback after guiding the Yellow Jackets to the playoffs. Most opponents and fans had never even heard of Atkins's replacement, senior John Jackson. "People thought I was crazy, but I knew exactly what I was doing," Serbay said. "I needed a leader, I needed a general, and John wound up being that general." With Jackson at quarterback, James Monroe (12-1) is headed for its first state championship appearance since 1996 when it faces Brookville on Saturday at noon in Lynchburg for the AA Division 3 title. According to Serbay, Jackson has been the key -- he's passed for 2,006 yards and 28 touchdowns -- thanks to his poise on the field. Atkins, too, has thrived along with Jackson, catching 49 passes for 879 yards and 15 touchdowns.

2ND DOWN

Osbourn Rides Big Plays to Final

In toppling three previously undefeated teams in each round of the playoffs, No. 10 Osbourn has earned its reputation as a big-play team. The problem for opponents has been identifying where exactly that big play would come from. In each postseason victory, the Eagles have scored touchdowns on plays longer than 65 yards thanks to a combination of four players: Lucky Whitehead, Thomas Keith, Timmy Keith and Jerell McFadden. Whitehead caught an 86-yard touchdown pass against Battlefield (thrown by McFadden) and an 80-yard score Saturday against Varina (thrown by Thomas Keith); Timmy Keith caught the go-ahead 65-yard score against Woodbridge two weeks ago (from McFadden) and found the end zone on a 55-yard run against Battlefield. "We have a lot of play-makers, and it's our job to get the ball in their hands," said Osbourn Coach Steve Schultze, whose Eagles face unbeaten Oscar Smith on Saturday at Virginia Tech in the Virginia AAA Division 6 title game.

3RD DOWN

SMAC Continues To Breed Success

Westlake's 24-21 overtime victory at Seneca Valley in last Friday's Maryland 3A semifinals did plenty for the ninth-ranked Wolverines' gusto. It did just as much, though, for the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference's ability to tout both its parity and success at the state level. Westlake will be the sixth of the SMAC's 13 schools to play in a state final in the past 10 years. No neighboring Maryland league has had as much success getting teams to championship games over that time; only six of Montgomery's 25 schools have played in a final during the past decade; eight of Prince George's 22 schools have; three apiece from Anne Arundel (12 schools) and Howard (13) counties have advanced. Four of Frederick County's nine schools have played in the finals in the past decade, but Linganore's appearance in this year's 4A final is the county's first since the Lancers won the 2003 3A title. History, though, may be against Westlake when it faces Wilde Lake on Thursday; except for Calvert's 2000 3A championship, all four other SMAC teams (Patuxent in 2001, Lackey in 2003 and '04, and McDonough in 2006) have lost in the final.

4TH DOWN

QB Splain Sparks

No. 3 Sherwood

Christmas came a month early for Sherwood senior quarterback Zack Splain. He stepped under center in last Friday's Maryland 4A semifinal against Wise and saw the Pumas playing eight men in the box. "They play a cover-3, which is a quarterback's dream," Splain said. "If we sent five out, there was always going to be one or two guys open." After calling run plays on seven of its first nine snaps, Sherwood started sending out four or five players into pass coverage. Connecting with six receivers, Splain completed 17 of 24 passes and posted career highs with 244 yards and six touchdowns, pushing his season totals to 1,744 yards and 34 touchdowns (matching former All-Met Deontay Twyman's school record) with only three interceptions. Splain said he felt a ton of pressure when he took over for Twyman as Sherwood's starter prior to last season, yet he has led the third-ranked Warriors to their winningest season, one in which they have scored 499 points. When Twyman led Sherwood to the 4A final in 2005 and 2006, the Warriors totaled 504 and 456 points, respectively.