Colonels aim for two straight against Warriors

By Brian Eller -- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

According to Sherando coach Bill Hall, his players haven't forgotten last year's contest against James Wood. The Warriors dropped a tight game, 17-14, losing for the first time against their rival since Sherando's inaugural season 17 years ago. And with the two teams set to face off again tonight, the memory of that defeat still lingers.

"They remember it for a couple of reasons," Hall said. "One, it had playoff implications. Two, that was the game where Ross [Metheny] tore his ACL, and I'm sure our team and their guys look at it as bragging rights within the local area."

While Metheny, last year's starting quarterback for Sherando, is no longer on the team, tonight's matchup will likely have those same playoff implications, as the winner will earn its first district win of the season.

Both James Wood and Sherando have enjoyed successful starts to their seasons. Sherando is an impressive 4-1, with its only blemish coming at the hands of Loudoun County on Sept. 17. Meanwhile, the Colonels are a perfect 5-0 with star running back Brock Lockhart, anchored by an experienced offensive line, already past the 1,000-yard mark.

Lockhart figures to be a major factor tonight, with both coaches well aware of the senior's talents on the field. For the Warriors, Hall knows the key factor on defense is stopping the tailback, or at least trying to contain him. "I don't know if you're going to stop him," Hall said, "but I think you just have to limit the big plays, make him earn his yards and try to put them in some long-yardage situations where they're behind the chains. If they're behind the chains, they'll have to throw the ball. Not that that's a real viable option with Trae [Tinsman] because obviously he's a really good quarterback, but if we don't ever stop the run they won't have to do anything except run the ball all night long."

Don't expect James Wood coach Mike Bolin to change his team's philosophy on offense, however. Through five games, the Colonels have outscored their opponents by an average of 26 points per game and have scored at least 33 points in every game. To him, the Colonels will run the same offensive game plan that's provided success so far this season, no matter who the opponent is.

"Everybody's going to try and stop Brock, so when we game plan we try to figure out the plays and the blocking schemes that we have that we feel will best work against the team we're playing," Bolin said. "No matter if it's Sherando, or anybody else. And that's what we did this week. We're gonna try to get them to play out of their base defense, that's I guess everybody's game plan. We're gonna block the way we've blocked all year, and we're not gonna change anything."

In addition to keeping the same game plans for their teams, both Bolin and Hall know that despite the hype surrounding the opening district game, the preparation remains the same. The anticipation, on the other hand, goes up a notch.

"You prepare the same way, it's just you play a team that you're familiar with," Bolin said. "But every time we play Sherando it's always a big game, and it's gonna be a big-game atmosphere. You prepare for it like you would for any other game, there's just a lot more riding on it."

"The things that are different is obviously the value of the game is greater, and sometimes your emotional level from your kids is greater just because they know these guys," Hall said "They're all friends ... well, I don't know if they're friends, but they all know each other, that's for sure."