James Wood Football Hoping To Get On Track Against Wildcats In Home Opener

Posted: September 12, 2014
By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Following its second consecutive loss to start the season, James Wood senior wide receiver and defensive back Nick Manuel said the Colonels are working on their concentration level.

“We’re losing focus, and we’re messing up on our blocks,” Nick Manuel said.

A James Wood team looking to turn its season around should have no problem with its focus tonight.

It will be the Colonels’ first game of the season at Kelican Stadium (and also the school’s Hall of Fame game), and James Wood (0-2) will welcome in a team in Warren County (0-2) that is also looking to find its way. The Wildcats have been outscored 67-7 so far, including 36-0 in last week’s loss to Brentsville.

“They look like us on film,” James Wood coach Mark McHale said.

Like James Wood, McHale said there are good things to be found on film with Warren County, but those good things are often negated by a bad thing on the next play.

“You’ll see their quarterback run a 50-yard touchdown, but then the next play they’re kind of like us — they’re sporadic, they’ll go backwards,” McHale said. “I think they’re going to get better as the year goes. Hopefully it’s not this game.”

Basically, Warren County — which lost several key contributors among last year’s group of 18 seniors and has a new coach in Steve Crist — and James Wood aren’t where Loudoun Valley is right now. McHale said he thinks the Vikings — which advanced to the Group 3A state semifinals last year and beat James Wood 38-0 last week — might be the best team the Colonels face all year.

Because of the high quality of the Vikings, McHale doesn’t want James Wood to be discouraged by its defeat to them. James Wood went three-and-out five times, did not cross midfield until the fourth quarter and recorded just 22 yards of offense in the first half. Loudoun Valley also scored points on five of its first seven possessions.

Obviously though, McHale doesn’t want his Colonels to think last week’s performance is acceptable.

A big emphasis this week for James Wood will be getting its running game going to take some pressure off of quarterback Brady Hepner, who has thrown seven interceptions this season. The Colonels have gained only 143 yards on the ground through two games.

“We’ve put him in a situation where he’s behind the chains, and he’s having to throw it deep to try to make the big play,” McHale said. “We’ll find out [if we can run against Warren County]. We’ve got to. We’ve got no choice. We’ve got to be able to run the rest of the year.”

The good news for the Colonels is that Warren County has struggled against the run. Crist said Brentsville ran the ball “extremely well” against the Wildcats 4-4 defense last week, this after Warren County was outgained 394-85 in its season-opening loss to Skyline.

The bad news for James Wood is that it will be shorthanded on the offensive line for the second straight week. Though starting center Adam Vadell is expected to be back after missing last week’s game with an injury, starting senior left guard Jesus Correa will miss tonight’s contest because of an injury he suffered against Loudoun Valley.

James Wood will go up against a Warren County offense that will throw numerous looks at the Colonels, including the pistol. The Wildcats had just 35 rushing yards and turned the ball over three times against Brentsville.

The Warren County offense will be led by quarterback Cameron Ford. The sophomore is the player who churned out that 50-yard run McHale was referring to, and it came against Skyline after Ford entered in relief of another player. Ford got the start at quarterback last week.

“[Ford’s] a good athlete, and has a good arm,” said Crist, who was an assistant coach at Warren County from 2007-12 before taking the head coaching position at Manassas Park last year. “He did some good things in the preseason and in the Skyline game.”

James Wood junior running back and linebacker Tyler Bishop said he feels the Colonels are in better position to make plays defensively based on practice this week.

“The defense has really picked it up this week,” Bishop said. “Guys are working hard.”

Crist has talked about getting all 11 players on the field playing together, and him needing to do a better job of getting his team prepared. If the Wildcats can’t do those things, Warren County — which beat James Wood 41-20 last year — could be in for another long night.

“They’re a big and strong team, and they’re going to be hungry because it’s their home opener,” Crist said.

The Colonels don’t want to let home field go to waste.

“We’re ready to go,” Bishop said.

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