September 8, 2012
By ROBERT STOCKS

WINCHESTER — With the James Wood football team teetering on the edge of letting the game slip away, Musselman came out of a 30-minute lightening delay and dealt the Colonels a knockout blow.

On fourth-and-5 from the Colonel 20, Applemen senior quarterback Caleb Dembeck connected with Trevon Wesco for 20-yard touchdown with 3.2 seconds left in the half to put Musselman ahead 21-0.

From there, it was all Musselman in a 41-0 rout of James Wood at Jerry L. Kelican Friday night.
The Applemen (2-1) put together a balanced attack, getting three passing touchdowns from Dembeck to three different receivers in the first half and then three different Musselman players rushed for touchdowns in the third quarter.

“The first half I thought we hung right with them,” James Wood senior linebacker/fullback Brett Lewin said. “After that delay we just came out flat. We gave up that touchdown [to Wesco]. We said before we came out that we had to stop them for that 24 seconds because that was a key drive and [our coverage] was there. We had a [chance] for a pick. We were there but we just gave it up.”

Wesco, a 6-foot-4, 215 pound junior, outleaped James Wood junior Dakota Orndorff in the front corner of the end zone to haul in the pivotal score.

Dembeck started the game a perfect 6-for-6 passing and finished 11 for 16 for 155 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone.

He connected with Josh Ferguson on a 23-yard score on the Applemen’s first drive, and then hooked up with senior Darrin Zombro for an 18-yard touchdown pass on Musselman’s third drive.

Zombro provided the key play on the Applemen’s second scoring drive, hauling in a one-handed grab on a slant across the middle for a 33-yard gain down to the James Wood 26.

Four plays later — on fourth-and-2 at the Wood 8, Zombro (four catches for 83 yards) hauled in a screen pass and bulled his way into the end zone to put the Applemen ahead 14-0 with 7:11 left in the first half.

Two of Musselman’s three first-half touchdowns came on fourth down.

“I thought we did a good job in the first half stopping the run,” said James Wood coach Mike Bolin. “We knew coming out after that delay that it was huge and imperative that we stop them but we gave up the big play on fourth down. We held them to a lot of fourth downs, but we just couldn’t stop them. We just didn’t get the job done and that’s the bottom line.”

The Colonels limited Ferguson to just 27 yards on eight carries in the first half before the Applemen’s senior standout broke free for a 34-yard gain that set up Musselman’s third touchdown just before the half.

But Musselman turned its ground game up a notch during the second half, getting a 60-yard score from senior wingback Maverick Keller on the Applemen’s first play from scrimmage to start the second half.

With the Applemen ahead 28-0, James Wood (1-2) drove to the Musselman 40 but turned the ball over on downs after quarterback Cam Butler covered a botched snap on fourth-and-3.

The turnover on downs gave the Applemen the ball at their own 44, and Ferguson and Keller ripped off three straight gashing runs of 15 yards (or more) before Ferguson capped the four-play drive with a 22-yard score.

“We were pleased with the way we came out after the break,” Musselman coach Denny Price said. “Our offensive line wasn’t performing very well that first part of the game but they came out the second half and they played really well. That’s the whole key for us is those interior linemen.”

Ferguson finished with 12 carries for 105 yards, and Keller added 108 yards (on five carries). Musselman finished with 351 yards rushing (on 40 carries). The Applemen totaled 526 yards on offense, and showed sportsmanship by kneeling on the ball with a first-and-goal at the Wood 7 in the final minute.

“I think the ground game really set up the passing game,” said Dembeck, who completed 13 of 20 attempts for 175 yards and three touchdowns. “We had great base blocks [from our linemen].”

Musselman limited James Wood to just 39 yards rushing (on 23 carries).

“They’re a good ball team,” Bolin said. “They played really well defensively and offensively. We didn’t.”

Butler led James Wood, completing 7 of 16 attempts for 78 yards passing. James Wood senior Bradley Skillman, who started at running back for injured starter Dallas Corbin — who did not play — rushed for 20 yards on eight carries, and junior Sawyer Michelitch added 16 yards on five carries in the second half.

The Colonels travel to face Hedgesville (W.Va.) next week, and Lewin said the team needs to just focus on next week’s non-district game.

“Coming back next week it’s a gut-check,” Lewin said. “This game’s in the past. We need guys that can play. We can’t dwell on a game like that, and we’ve got to keep our heads up.”

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