Royals Make the Playoffs for the Second Time in Three Years

The Port Jefferson Royals are going to the playoffs for the second time in three years, following a previous 20 year drought.

The Royals secured their playoff birth by defeating the McGann-Mercy Monarchs 20-12 on Friday night.

"It feels great," head coach Jim Mimnaugh said. "It's good to go back."

The Monarchs dominated the start of the game.  The Royals were only able to execute three plays in the team's opening drive, before the Monarchs stripped the ball, forcing a fumble.

Following the fumble, McGann-Mercy started the Monarch drive on the Royal 44-yard line. The Monarchs did not waste this opportunity.  In just five plays, the Monarchs were in the end zone. Senior running back Robert Terry ran the ball in from the 9-yard line to give McGann-Mercy the early 6-0 lead.

The Monarchs were able to hold the Royals scoreless, and hold onto their lead until there was only 7.8 seconds to go in the half.  The Royals lined up on the Monarch 1-yard line, but on second down, the Monarch defense held strong.  On third down the Royal's pass attempt was incomplete..  But on fourth down, quarterback Dan Serignese threaded the ball into the back of the end zone to senior wide receiver Braden Colucci to tie the game at 6-6. 

This score going into the half was just the momentum the Royals needed.  Mimnaugh said, "We felt the momentum was starting to shift our way, and we knew we got the ball first in the second half.  We knew it would be important to score first."

The players felt the momentum shift as well. Royals running back Zach Powell, back after a broken clavicle injury, said, "That score made us come out of the locker room fresh and ready to go."

The Royals wanted to start the second half with a score, and that's exactly what they did.  In three plays, the Royals drove the field, with running back Dylan Ernst culminating the drive in a 54-yard run to the end zone.  The drive gave the Royals the team's first lead of the game 13-6. 

The drive was executed based on things the Royal coaches saw in the first half that they could work on.  "We wanted to get to the outside more." Mimnaugh said. "They were killing us in the inside."

It wasn't long before Port Jefferson scored again, on yet another big play.  This time Serignese and Colucci met up again for a 41-yard pass completion and touchdown, giving Port Jefferson a 20-6 advantage.

The score was all the Royals needed to win the game.  The Monarchs scored once more on another Robert Terry run, but they could not get in the end zone again, losing the game 20-12.

"It's kind of depressing," Terry said after the game. "We were really hoping to get a win here tonight."

Monarch head coach Joe Read admitted the loss was a tough one. "This was a great game.  Port Jefferson is going to the playoffs now, and we almost took that away from them."

"This is a really big win for us," Ernst said after the game. "We knew we had to win this game to get into the playoffs."

Next week, the Royals were start the playoffs, facing off against Bayport.