After just one game between Sherando and James Wood was decided by less than 34 points from 2012-19, the Colonels snapped a 13-game losing streak to their Frederick County rivals by breaking away in the fourth quarter for wins in the spring and fall of 2021.
Since then, Sherando has returned to its dominant ways in its series with James Wood, winning four games by an average of 40.8 points per game. Last year, the Warriors — who hold an all-time series edge of 32-4 — beat the Colonels 35-0 in the regular season and 48-7 in the Region 4D quarterfinals.
But based on how this season has gone so far, Friday’s game has a chance to be the best between the two schools since 2021, when the current seniors were in middle school.
Sherando (2-1) will travel to James Wood (3-0) for a 7 p.m. game in the Northwestern District opener for both teams.
As last Friday’s 24-6 win at Culpeper County was winding down, some players on the Colonels’ sideline could be overheard discussing if they started 3-0 last year, with one of them wondering when the Kettle Run game took place in 2024.
James Wood did start 3-0 last season, and it was the powerful Cougars — who went undefeated in the regular season en route to the Class 3 state championship game — who denied the Colonels their first 4-0 start since going 5-0 in 2009 with a resounding 54-14 win.
In their first two games, the Colonels were dominant against an inexperienced Clarke County team and a program that typically struggles in Dominion, winning by a combined 101-9.
The Colonels got their first real test last week against the Blue Devils, who came in with a 2-0 record and are showing they have the potential for a strong season. They beat Eastern View 15-14 in overtime, and the Cyclones trailed 16-9 against Handley until the Judges scored a touchdown with 3:39 left in Week 1.
Culpeper County looked like it might go back-and-forth with James Wood all night after an 18-play, 80-yard drive that lasted nine minutes and 23 seconds and cut the Colonels’ lead to 7-6 with 9:44 left in the second quarter. But James Wood answered with a 30-yard Aidan Bell field goal on its next possession and went on to win, 24-6.
James Wood coach Todd Wilson said his players have been eager to learn and improve throughout the season, which has contributed to the Colonels’ 3-0 start.
“They’re taking coaching really well,” Wilson said. “They’re not satisfied with where we’re at. They keep showing up to work hard.”
The Culpeper County game continued an impressive season for a defense that had some question marks after losing players like leading tackler and linebacker Vincent Salvati (125) and defensive end Jordyn Sweetser, who tied for the area lead in sacks last year with 8.5.
In addition to allowing an area-low five points per game, James Wood also ranks first in the area in yards allowed per game with 144.7.
Sophomore linebacker Jackson Ledford leads the team with 24 tackles, and junior linebacker Logan Lafollette has 19 tackles after wracking up 13 against Culpeper. Lafollette also leads James Wood in tackles for loss (five) and sacks (two). Lafollette was mainly an outside linebacker last year until being moved inside late in the season.
“Defensively, I didn’t think they couldn’t play, but we had guys who were just kind of unproven [coming into this season],” said Wilson, who spent four years as an offensive line coach for the Colonels before taking on the head coaching position in 2023. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve never had to go in with two guys who haven’t really played a lot.
“Logan Lafollette had played some, but not his particular position. I think him and Jackson Ledford are getting better every week. That’s nice that those two young kids, a sophomore and a junior, continue to progress on the defensive side.”
The Colonels will take on a Sherando offense that went through a stretch of seven points in five quarters heading into halftime against Jefferson (West Virginia) last week. The Warriors ended the scoreless tie by rushing for 198 yards after halftime in a 14-0 win. Tailback Jaylen Tasco-Murray and quarterback Jacob Henry combined for 195 of those yards.
For the season, Tasco-Murray has 336 yards and five TDs on 60 carries and Henry has completed 22 of 33 passes for 282 yards, three TDs and three interceptions while rushing for 265 yards and one TD.
“Jaylen runs hard, and he’s been doing a good job of attacking downhill,” Sherando coach T.J. Rohrbaugh said. “Jacob’s an emotional leader for us out there, and that’s always a good thing when you’ve got your quarterback really kind of leading the charge there.”
Like James Wood, Sherando is also allowing only five points per game and holding opponents under 200 yards per game (172.7). The Warriors shut out their second opponent in three weeks in beating Jefferson.
Though the statistics are impressive, not everything is going perfectly. While Wyatt Grimm is making a difference at safety with 25 tackles and four pass breakups, it’s not ideal for a defensive back to lead a team in tackles since the secondary is the last line of defense.
“Our guys have been playing with a lot of effort, but I really think we’ve lacked a lot of discipline at times on defense,” Rohrbaugh said. “We haven’t done a great job of finishing tackles, so there’s a lot of room for improvement on that side of the ball.”
A big reason why Sherando lost 15-14 to Loudoun County in Week 2 was that Loudoun County quarterback Jake Miller was able to escape pressure and give himself time to find receivers, mainly on the game-winning drive in the final two minutes and 22 seconds.
This week, Sherando will take on a mobile quarterback in Owen Neal who can extend plays with his legs behind the line of scrimmage in addition to taking off on designed runs for big gains. Neal has completed 14 of 25 passes for 419 yards, five TDs and two interceptions and run for 194 yards and four TDs on 26 carries.
Rohrbaugh said the Warriors will have to be disciplined Friday.
“When guys are out there freelancing and not doing their job, then the whole defense kind of breaks down,” Rohrbaugh said.
Aidric Yurish has five catches for 166 yards and two TDs, wide receiver Xavier Price has two receiving and rushing TDs each, and Jeremiah Hodel leads the Colonels in rushing with 221 yards and two TDs on 24 carries. Sherando’s defense also features linebacker Pete Carter (18 tackles) and defensive lineman Andrew Taylor (12 tackles).
James Wood center Colton Knisley didn’t play in the second half due to injury last week. On Monday, Wilson said he wasn’t sure of this week’s status for Knisley. Sawyer Farr stepped in for him against Culpeper County. Wilson said this is the best situation he’s seen in terms of the number of people who can provide quality play up front.
“We haven’t had quite the depth on the offensive and defensive lines like we do this year,” Wilson said. “There are several guys who aren’t getting a lot of playing time, just because you don’t typically rotate your offensive line. But we have several guys we are very confident that if they have to step in and play, they’re going to be perfectly fine.”
With five turnovers this season — including two last week — Wilson said the Colonels (six takeaways) are stressing ball security. Sherando has five takeaways, but had just one in the last two weeks while turning it over five times.
“We’ve lost the turnover battle the last two games, and that’s not a recipe for success,” Rohrbaugh said.
While Wilson enjoys seeing Bell have success from long range, he’d rather see him add to his 16-of-16 performance on extra points on Friday. In addition to settling for a field goal, James Wood also had a red-zone interception last week.
“When we’re inside the red zone or close to the end zone, we need to put seven points on the board and score touchdowns,” Wilson said.
The red zone is just one of the areas Rohrbaugh feels Sherando will need to be better in going forward.
“I think for us to be able to have a chance and be able to compete, we’ve got to be better at fundamentals,” Rohrbaugh said. “We’ve got to be better at blocking and tackling than we have been up to this point, and we’ve got to eliminate the penalties and the turnovers, and the things that kill you when you play good football teams.”
After playing in a second half plagued by penalties against Culpeper, Wilson hopes this week’s game flows better for everyone involved.
“Hopefully, we have a really clean football game,” Wilson said. “Fun for the fans to watch, fun for the kids to play in, fun for the coaches to coach in.”
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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