James Madison University won their second National Championship in program history by defeating Youngstown State 28-14 down in Frisco, Texas. JMU had booked its spot in the FCS National Championship game by beating the five time defending champion, North Dakota State 27-17 back on Dec. 16. After news of the win against NDSU, JMU fans began booking their flights and buying their tickets for the championship.

Multiple HHS students made the journey down south for the game, including freshman Suzanne Fornadel. Fornadel’s dad played football for the Dukes and made the decision to take the family down for the game.

“My family and I decided the trip was necessary because they hadn’t been to a championship game since 04′ and we just couldn’t miss this opportunity. My family and I didn’t miss a home game this season either. My dad is an alumni football player from James Madison, so he definitely didn’t want to miss it,” Fornadel said.

Her trip down to Frisco started Friday morning, where she took a flight from DC to Houston, and then a connecting flight from Houston to Dallas. Although the trip was tiring, she was glad she got to witness the game and rush the field.

“I enjoyed the experience overall of seeing a football program I’ve watched my whole life bring home a championship. Running on the field after the game had to have been a highlight though,” Fornadel said.

Senior Duncan Rutherford also made the trip down with his father. Rutherford wanted to attend the game because JMU is his first choice for college and he had attended almost all of the home games this year. He says there was no better way to watch the game than in person.

“Being there in person was much better because television could not portray the excitement and atmosphere of the game,” Rutherford said.

While in Texas, Rutherford got to enjoy some of what the state offers during his free time.

“I had some good tex mex soul food, went to In N Out Burger twice, and I went to the JFK museum in Dallas Texas,” Rutherford said.

HHS also had one of its own alumni suited up on the sideline for JMU. Redshirt freshman Devin Medley was a running back and middle linebacker for HHS just a year ago. Although he is a redshirt, he was able to travel down and dress out for the game. Medley couldn’t have asked for a better first season with the Dukes.

“It was a great experience to get to learn from such great teammates and it was hard work, but it was also a fun time,” Medley said.

JMU’s preparation for the game was very time consuming, but it paid off.

“The time in Texas was a ton of preparation. We were game planning a lot, but when we weren’t, we were getting hydrated and nutrition into our bodies,” Medley said.

Not all of the preparation involved football; the night before the game the team headed over to an entertainment center to relax with the opposing team.

“We also went to an entertainment center the night before the game and played games with each other and with Youngstown State. There was bowling, mechanical bull riding, laser tag and arcade games. Most of the time was just spent at the hotel down at Texas,” Medley said.

His favorite part of the experience was watching the fans rush onto the field.

“My favorite part about the experience was being on the field when we won and the fans rushed the field because it was just a sea of purple and gold,” Medley said.

Even though the season is over, Medley will begin preparing for next year.

“The next step now is to keep on training in the offseason and to keep getting better,” Medley said.