Three football signings for William Monroe is testament to the progress that this program has made since the 2012 season. In coach Jon Rocha’s three seasons, the last two have been playoff teams. And now the Class of 2017 is reaping the rewards of their hard work as Malique Shackelford and Kyle Kruszewski signed with UVa Wise and Tyler Bunyea committed to Shenendoah University.
“This is just a symbol of hard work paying off,” Shackelford said. “Kyle, Tyler and I have put a tremendous amount of time in the weight room, on the field and it showed on Fridays. It means a lot. It’s awesome. A lot of people think this is the end of the journey but it’s really just the beginning. Now we’re going to play at the next level where we need to raise it.”
Shackelford, an All-Scrimmage Play honoree at quarterback this year, was a dual threat quarterback for the Dragons. He was the starter the last two years for Monroe. He’ll transition over to play H-back, giving the physical yet swift Dragon an opportunity make plays in a number of ways.
He joins Kruszewski at Wise. The Monroe two-way lineman was a menace in the Bull Run District and an All-SP first team selection. With a potential familiar roomate in Shackelford, Kruszewski projects to play offensive tackle but he’d like to play on the defensive side of the ball if possible too.
“Everyone says the culture shock is going to be big, but having Malique up there with me, that’s going to make everything easier,” Kruszewski said. “To have the chemistry we have and take it to the next level is really exciting.”
With Bunyea, Shenandoah drew his eye knowing that his girlfriend would be there too. That the coaching staff and himself meshed so well made the decision simple and he’s going to play offensive line with the hopes of playing at guard if things go his way.
“It’s amazing, I’ve played football since I was seven years old,” Bunyea said. “Just knowing my football isn’t quite over, it means a lot to me. All our had work paid off.”
And in a day that’s dominated by football, the Monroe girls soccer team found a way to swipe the spotlight too. Last year Rachel DeMasters signed with William and Mary and Juliet Karnes with Shenandoah. This year, Arianna Mills inked with Eastern Mennonite University to keep the tradition rolling for a high school program that’s made simply huge strides the last three years.
“They’re rebuilding right now so that’s going to fun,” Mills said. “It’s exciting to go from one program to another program that’s building. It means a lot to come from this and go to (EMU).”
Mills will play outside back or mid, a slight change from her role at Monroe, but one she’s familiar with from her time playing on the private circuit during the rest of the year.
“I won’t have to stress now focusing on high school soccer,” Mills said. “It’s relaxing to know that it’s set in stone.”
