Virginia Peninsula Game of Week #2 - A.J. Johnson helps James Monroe cruise to a rain soaked 43 - 7 win over York

From ultimaterecruit.com

YORK – At 5’5” and 150 pounds, A. J. Johnson was one of the smallest players on Bailey Field on Friday night. However, when the final gun sounded at the tail end of a James Monroe 43-7 rout over York, there was little question as to which player had the biggest impact.

Johnson, a tailback for the Yellow Jackets, rushed for 209 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries, including breakaway runs of 86 and 66 yards. The James Monroe defense added two scores as the visitors opened up a 29-0 halftime lead and cruised to victory.

For the game, James Monroe tallied 328 yards, including a whopping 310 on the ground over 33 carries. Junior Divyne Ford added 86 yards on 11 carries, and had a breakout run of his own, a 68-yard burst through the Falcon defense on the game’s second play.

On the other hand, the Falcons were held to 158 yards and eight first downs by a swarming Jacket defense that forced four turnovers.

Monroe (1-1), who was routed 48-10 last weekend by perennial powerhouse Dinwiddie, buoyed themselves with big plays, which seemed to happen successively. In all, the Yellow Jackets had four plays which covered over 50 yards.

On Monroe’s second possession, they were forced to punt, but the ball was caught at the Falcon five-yard line, and the York returner was dropped at the 3. Two plays later, a fumbled Falcon handoff was recovered in the York end zone by Monroe’s Elijah Baylor. The conversion failed, but the Yellow Jackets had a 12-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

On the ensuing play, York quarterback Ramsey Hayyat had his pass intercepted by Jaden Preston, who returned the ball 53 yards for a Jacket score. The sophomore had a rough outing, completing 6 of 15 passes for only 60 yards and two interceptions. Hayyat passed for almost 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns as a freshman, and to his credit, he continued to gun sling at the Jacket defense fearlessly.

The next Monroe drive lasted only one play. Johnson grabbed the first handoff and sprinted 86 yards through the Falcon defense for his first score, as the Jackets opened up a 26-0 margin.

Yellow Jacket kicker Nolan Marine tacked on a 28-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to give his team a 29-0 lead at the half.

The Falcons opened the second half with a sense of urgency. Running a hurry-up offense, Cole Lytle carried on three successive plays for a total of 27 yards. On the next play, Hayyat faked a handoff to Lytle up the middle, and then dashed around the right side for a 39-yard touchdown – the Falcons’ longest play of the game.

The skies opened up and the rain started pouring midway through the third quarter, causing problems for both offenses who failed to move the ball with authority over each of their next two possessions. But Monroe regained their footing, as Johnson ran for touchdowns of 66 and 49 yards on the next two Jacket possessions.

Hayyat led all York rushers with 45 yards on 15 carries. Lytle added 37 yards on eight carries, all in the second half, as well as three catches for 31 yards.

JAMES MONROE – 26, 3, 0, 14 — 43

YORK – 0, 0, 7, 0 — 7

1st Quarter
JM – Ford 68 run (kick failed)
JM – E. Baylor fumble rec. in end zone (kick failed)
JM – J. Preston 53 int. return (Marine kick)
JM – A.J. Johnson 86 run (Marine kick)

2nd Quarter
JM – Marine 28 FG

3rd Quarter
Y – Hayyat 39 run (Elmauthaler kick)

4th Quarter
JM – A.J. Johnson 66 run (Marine kick)
JM – A.J. Johnson 49 run (Marine kick)

                 JM   York
First downs; 10, 8
Rushes-yards; 33-310, 35-102
Passing yards; 18, 60
Comp-att-int; 4-9-1, 6-15-2
Penalties-yards; 10-75, 5-25
Punts-avg; 5-27, 7-30
Fumbles-lost; 0-0, 3-2