Football Preview: James Wood at Fauquier

When: Today, 7 p.m.

Where: Fauquier High School, Warrenton

Records: James Wood (0-4); Fauquier (2-2)

Last week: James Wood lost to Strasburg 32-0; Fauquier beat Millbrook 31-9.

Last year: Fauquier won 48-8.

Preview: Another week, another rough loss for James Wood.

After a solid second half against Warren County a week earlier, the Colonels suffered their biggest defeat of the season in a 32-0 rout at the hands of Strasburg last week.

James Wood coach Mark McHale knows his team can play well in spurts, now he just needs them to do it over the course of an entire game.

“I told the players if we can play the first half like we did Heritage and the second half like we did against Warren County, we’d be sitting pretty,” McHale said.

The Colonels will get another chance to put it all together against a tough Fauquier team tonight.

The Falcons had struggles of their own against Millbrook last week — they trailed 9-3 at halftime — before scoring 28 unanswered points in the second half to win comfortably.

The running back tandem of Briar Thomas and Todd Jordan helped Fauquier pile up 225 yards on the ground on 32 carries and quarterback Louis Heisler finished an efficient 12 for 17 for 123 yards and ran in a score.

James Wood will be the fourth straight Northwestern District team the Falcons have faced this year — they beat Skyline 30-12 and lost to Handley 45-21 — and McHale knows they’ll be a tough test for his squad.

“They’re a good team,” McHale said. “They’re big and athletic and they played Handley tough.”

McHale said the Colonels have focused on their tackling skills this week and will probably open up the offense more with quarterback Cam Butler.

After missing almost the entire summer with mononucleosis, McHale feels like Butler is finally ready to take on a heavier load under center and plans on airing it out more against Fauquier.

“He’s at the point now where we can let him throw and open it up more,” McHale said. “He’s a high-percentage thrower and we want to use him to our advantage.”