For King George it had been 26 years since they won a region title, it has been 7 years for Monacan since they reached the state semifinals. On a breezy Spring evening the two teams who had never played one another met at Monacan to decide whose season would continue and which team would suffer their first loss of the season and see that season end.

Six touchdowns in the first half of the Region 4B Final had everyone believing we were in for one of those shootouts. In the second half, however, things settled down although there was still plenty of moments for both teams where one play could make a huge difference.

The tone was set, however, by King George who received the second half kickoff and put together a methodical and time consuming drive that ate nearly half the clock in the third quarter. Monacan playing from behind appeared to abandon the run too early and spent much of the second half throwing the ball, looking for that big play that never came. King George's defense shutout the Chiefs in the second half despite some close moments where it appeared Monacan would score with a chance to tie.

In the end, Monacan's season came to a sudden halt and the Foxes showed exactly why they are having their best season in 26 years and a team that is not to be taken lightly.

Monacan scored on the opening drive of the game with a 74-yard drive that culminated in a Keshawn Jefferson 1-yard run.

King George answered with a drive of their own that saw Javon Campbell run with authority from 23 yards out and at the 5:53 mark of the first quarter we had our first tie of the game.

Disaster struck early for Monacan on their second possession of the night when the ball was fumbled and there for the recovery was junior defensive end Dashawn Clark. The costly turnover put King George on the Monacan 32 and in 5 plays the Foxes had their first lead of the night. Charles Muttter hit his mark with a 13-yard strike to Kyle Reviello on the first play of this drive and at 15-yard shot to Chris Cox that was the go-ahead score with a little over four minutes to go in the first quarter.

How does Monacan answers? Monacan put together a 67-yard drive that saw senior Robert Grimes applying he pressure on QB Tyler Hensley but the Chiefs leaned on Keshawn Jefferson who had 39 yards on 3 carries, none bigger than Keshawn's touchdown from 8 yards out. At the 2:19 mark of the first quarter we were tied for a second time.

Monacan's defense brought thee pressure on the Foxes third possession of the night with Andre Lockey in on tackles and Charlie Sykes putting pressure on Mutter. This would be just what the Chiefs needed as they kept King George from scoring for the first time on this night.

At their own 43, Monacan went to work on a 57-yard drive that was stunted by a false start and holding penalty against the Chiefs. Monacan would be called for several penalties on this night. QB Tyler Hensley came through with a 17-yard scamper with the Chiefs facing a 2nd & 33. On the very next play Monacan averted disaster when Hensley fumbled the ball but was able to recover. Facing a 4th & 26 Monacan would be forced to punt.

After the Foxes were penalized for running into the kicker, the Foxes had the ball at midfield and for a second series the Chiefs defense came through forcing the Foxes to a 3 & out.

With time ticking away in the second quarter Monacan looked to the run game and Keshawn Jefferson delivered with nearly 40 yards rushing on this drive alone. A drive that ended in the end zone on a 4-yard run with 1:51 left in the half.

The Foxes needed a big play before the half, not wanting to go into the half down, Zach Ferguson had a big return for the Foxes to the Monacan 35. The Foxes got a first down thanks to runs by Javon Campbell and QB Charles Mutter but it was Mutter's pass to Mauricio Blanco of 21 years that proved to be the biggest play of this drive. King George nearly got in the end zone but instead it was Charles Mutter punching it in for his first TD run of the night. With less than a minute in the half King George had tied it up and taken momentum from the Chiefs.

King George received the second half kickoff and put together a methodical 88-yard drive that ate up half the quarter. The Foxes behind QB Charles Muttter just kept marching the ball down with the pass challenging Monacan's defense to stop. Kyjuan Pettus got his hands on first down pass to break it up but that was as close as the Chiefs got to disrupting the Foxes flow.

With Charles Mutter orchestrating this methodical drive it was only fitting he be the one to punch it in from one yard out to put the Foxes back on top.

The Foxes and Chiefs exchanged 3 & outs before Monacan finally threatened again in the late stages of the third quarter.

Tyler Hensley hit junior Ghalil Wells with a 17-yard shot. Before the ball could be snapped again, the Foxes were called for too many men on the field. 1st & 15 at the 20 the Chiefs had the ball at the King George 11 with a fresh set of downs in just two plays. The next two Monacan plays netted just 5 yard and on fourth down and needing just two yards the Chiefs go for it and come up half a yard short. This would ultimately be as close to scoring as Monacan would come in the second half.

King George opened the fourth quarter on offense after getting he first, Mutter was sacked on second down. King George faced 3rd & 17 from their own 7 when a controversial penalty came out. The refs flagged Monacan for a personal foul giving King George a first down. The Monacan side of the field along with many on the sidelines did not understand the call as it was a clean hit, the defender led with his shoulder, not his helmet but the call stood, the refs would hear none of it.

Three plays later it was a moot point as Tyler Bartholomew intercepted a Mutter pass to end the King George threat.

Monacan would not be able to capitalize off of the turnover. The Chiefs managed just three yards and that came from a pass from Hensley to Keshawn Jefferson on second down. Facing 4th & 7 the Chiefs Tyler Hensley with pressure coming was forced to scramble and could not find an open receiver thus the pass fell incomplete and Monacan turned it over on downs.

Junior defensive end Lloyd Williams who had a superb game defensively got his hands on a Muter pass on 3rd & 6 but could only break it up, not intercept it. A lot opportunity for the Chiefs but it did force a King George punt.

Monacan would again have a chance, have favorable field position near midfield. After a 6-yard Keshawn Johnson run, the Foxes were called for too many men on the field for a second time on this night. Two plays later disaster struck Monacan when a direct snap to Keshawn Johnson went past the running back who had to race to get to it before the King George defenders did. The Chiefs lost 16 yards with that mistake and could not recover.

Monacan's defense forced another 3 & out for King George to put the ball in Monacan's hands with little time left in the game.

If the Chiefs were to score, they would have to move the ball 73 yards and to their credit they did move the ball 33 yards in the matter of a few plays with Hensley hitting Elijah McLeod and Kyjuan Pettus on three straight passes.

A costly sack crushed the Chiefs momentum... the game came down to fourth down, Monacan needing a first down to keep the drive and their hopes alive. Tyler Hensley put the ball in the air but his pass fell incomplete and the Chiefs season came to an end.

Monacan's season ends at 7-1 while King George claims their first region title in 26 years.

Defensively I am going to give it up to junior middle linebacker Kyle Reviello. While I do not have any official stats on how many tackles he had, I can tell you I lost count on the number of times I heard his name on this night. He was a beast on defense for the Foxes. Kyle also had 5 catches for 64 yards on offense as the leading receiver for the Foxes.

On the offensive side of the ball how can it be anyone but Charles Mutter who had 219 yards of offense. 198 yards came through the air where he threw a touchdown but his most important TD's came on the ground on short runs as Mutter scored the final two touchdowns of the night to tie and ultimately put the Foxes ahead to stay.

This is King George's fourth region title having won in 1995, 1988 and 1970.

King George will play Lake Taylor next week. The Foxes are 1-2 in state semifinals.

Monacan under Coach Jim Henderson is 68-21 in the regular season and 7-8 in the playoffs.