Falcons 34 Colonels 31

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

WINCHESTER -- Fauquier High School's push for the Region II football playoffs came down to big tests in the final two weeks of the regular season. The Falcons passed the first one Friday night, quite literally.

Junior quarterback Garrett Diehl completed 32 of 51 passes for 326 yards and had five touchdown tosses to carry the Falcons to a 34-31 non-district double-overtime victory over James Wood at Jerry L. Kelican Stadium.

Operating from Fauquier's spread offense, Diehl sprayed the ball to six different receivers. His favorite target was sophomore wideout Darius Stanford, whose 16 catches for 136 yards and four touchdowns could qualify as a season for many players.

The Falcons (5-4), winners of four straight, nearly doubled James Wood's time of possession and put together three scoring drives of 10 or more plays in regulation that kept the Colonels' normally potent ball-control offense off the field. Fauquier ran 80 plays, compared to Wood's 53, and piled up 421 yards of total offense while holding the Colonels to a season-low 239.

"We knew they would try to take away our run," Diehl said. "We switched the game plan around a little and spread them out. My line did a great job of giving me time to throw."

While passing is certainly nothing new for the Falcons, the 51 attempts were a season high.

"We take what we can," Falcons coach Mark Scott said. "We came in knowing there were a few things we wanted to do, and you saw that with the screens early. But some of it was just game situations and flow. We probably wanted to run a little more than we did, but we'll take what we feel like the defense is giving us."

Still, James Wood (6-3) had its chances to escape with a win in regulation. Following a Trae Tinsman-to Matt Copley five-yard scoring pass that tied the game 21-21, the Colonels pinned Fauquier deep in its own territory in the closing minutes. A poor punt gave Wood the ball on Fauquier's 16-yard line with 3:09 left to play.

However, the Falcons sacked Tinsman twice and Zach Lloyd's 42-yard field goal attempt came up short.

"That's my fault," Colonels coach Mike Bolin said. "We probably should have run the ball there. We were trying to be aggressive. I felt like last week (a 10-7 loss to Millbrook) we were a little conservative at times. We put our kicker a little out of his comfort range."

Once in overtime, Fauquier went right back to its bread and butter. The Falcons needed just one pass play to score in each overtime series, which starts for both teams 10 yards from the goal line. The first was Diehl's pass to Stanford that put Fauquier up 28-21.

After Wood answered with Tinsman's six-yard pass to tight end David Alaniz, the Colonels struck first in the second overtime on Lloyd's 27-yard field goal. Wood's first lead of the game was short-lived, however, as Diehl scrambled up in the pocket and found Sean Onstad over the middle for the game-clinching touchdown.

"He's a slick little son of a gun," Bolin said of Diehl. "He's good, smart, and light on his feet. He's a playmaker. He made us miss a lot."

Tinsman completed 12 of 20 passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns, including a 51-yarder to Brandon Shiley late in the first quarter. Wood's leading rusher Brock Lockhart added a 15-yard touchdown run and finished with a season-low 68 yards on 15 carries.

"Our kids gave it everything they had," Bolin said. "We moved it pretty well when we had it. We just didn't have the ball much."

While the Falcons will play rival Liberty next week for the Evergreen District title and an automatic playoff berth, the Colonels find themselves wondering about their postseason future after their third loss in four games.

A victory over unbeaten Handley in next Saturday's regular-season finale would almost surely give Wood a third straight trip to the playoffs. A loss, on the other hand, could be devastating.

"Sometimes you get in these funks," Bolin said. "I'm sure no one's happy right now. I'm not happy about it, either. All we can do is focus on our next game. That's the only thing we can control. We can't control what happened in the past. And if we don't win next week ... well, then you shouldn't make the playoffs if you lose four of your last five."