Sherando ends skid against James Wood with rout

WINCHESTER — Following Friday night's football game at Kelican Stadium, a Sherando fan was overheard saying, "Things are back to the way they used to be."

Losing two games in a row to James Wood did not sit well with the Warriors, and they went out and proved how badly they wanted to end that streak from start to finish.

The Warriors scored two touchdowns in the first six minutes and 23 seconds of the game, then ran off 41 unanswered points after James Wood's lone touchdown with five minutes left in the first quarter to win 54-8 in the season and Class 4 Northwestern District opener for both teams.

Sherando now leads the all-time series with the Colonels 29-4 after Friday's dominant win. The Warriors led 20-8 after one quarter and 26-8 at halftime, and outgained James Wood 458-198 for the game.

The statistical leaders of the total team effort were sophomore quarterback Micah Carlson (completed 6 of 9 passes for 124 yards and three TDs and ran for 63 yards on eight carries); sophomore running back Jason Foster (12 carries for 133 yards and one TD); senior wide receiver Jacob Manuel (three catches for 65 yards and two TDs); and senior running back/receiver Gavyn Blye (eight carries for 43 yards and two TDs). The defense forced two turnovers that the Colonels turned into scores.

"We were beyond angry," said Carlson of the team's mindset coming into the game. "We had so much fuel from last year."

"We had to have this one," said Manuel, who transferred from James Wood to Sherando prior to his junior year and walked away with the James Wood Touchdown Club's Player of the Game plaque for Sherando.

Warriors coach Jake Smith said he knew just how strongly his players wanted to win, so the coaching staff made an effort to keep them as calm as possible to prevent those emotions from getting the best of them, which could have led to mistakes.

Smith felt the Warriors handled their emotions well. Sherando committed 12 penalties for 97 yards, but the Warriors were about as efficient as you can get on plays that didn't feature a yellow flag on the field.

"We wanted to come out and try and be explosive," Smith said. "And we talked all week and all offseason that we have to control the line of scrimmage, and I thought we established the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football."

The Warriors were hit with a holding call on the fifth play from scrimmage to set up first-and-21. But then Carlson connected with senior AJ Santiago (two catches, 52 yards) on a right-to-left slant on the next play for a 38-yard touchdown with 9:57 left in the first quarter. The extra point kick was missed to leave the score at 6-0.

Sherando then made sure to capitalize on a James Wood mistake.

The Colonels drove 37 yards on eight plays to the Warriors' 30 before a holding call pushed them back. James Wood eventually had to send out the punting team from the Warriors' 37. But the snap was low and Hunter Barnhart had to fall on the ball all the way back at the James Wood 38.

Foster then took advantage of a big hole up the middle. After breaking a tackle attempt at the 15, he kept on going for a touchdown. The first of four Ben Smith extra points made it 13-0.

Propelled by a 72-yard run from senior running back Isaiah Ralls (16 carries, 99 yards), James Wood struck back on its next possession, with running back Blake Corbin scoring on a direct snap from one yard out and Jordyn Sweetser adding a two-point run to make it 13-8 just 37 seconds after Sherando's TD.

James Wood linebacker Zach Smith then stopped Carlson two yards short of a first down at the James Wood 14 on a fourth-and-8 run on Sherando's next possession, but that would be the last major highlight for the Colonels.

Three plays later, sophomore defensive end Kaleb Nowlin (seven tackles, 2.5 for a loss) came around the right side and hit James Wood quarterback Jared Neal (10 of 28 for 73 yards) from behind, knocking the ball out in the process. Senior defensive end Trey Kremer fell on the ball at the Colonels' 6. Three plays later, Blye swept into the end zone from five yards out around the right side for 20-8 lead with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.

That was the only time Sherando hit Neal for lost yardage, but the senior all-district selection from last year never looked comfortable because of the Warriors' consistently good pressure and coverage.

"Our defensive line was getting after him, making him throw the ball where he didn't want to throw it," said Manuel (four tackles), who also plays safety. "And we were breaking up passes. I though we did great."

Carlson then continued to guide the Warriors well on offense. He had perfect timing on two throws about 10 yards downfield to Manuel, who was able to catch the ball and turn inside on his defender for long touchdowns of 24 and 36 yards. The first one came on fourth-and-3 from the James Wood 24 in the second quarter and extended Sherando's lead to 26-8.

"It's my job to get them the ball and it's [the receivers'] job to do theirs," Carlson said.

Carlson also did an an excellent job keeping the Colonels' defense on their toes with the running game, seemingly always knowing when to give Foster the ball on handoffs or to keep it himself. Carlson also hurt the defense on option runs around the edge, keeping the ball or pitching it a player on the outside to great success.

"I thought Micah managed the game very well," Smith said. "I thought his experience in the offseason helped him out immensely, and he had time to throw. Micah does a good job reading the first and second level, and [his ability to help the running game] is one aspect of his game that we enjoy and take advantage of."

The starting offensive line of tackles Ethan Gonzalez and Charlie Clawson, guards Wesley Pendzich and Storm Miller, and center Jarrett See also helped Sherando's offense run smoothly.

James Wood coach Ryan Morgan stated before the season that he knew his offense wasn't going to be able to generate as many explosive plays as it did last year, so the Colonels needed to be more efficient and consistent.

The Colonels' first drive was an impressive march, but the holding call at the Sherando 30 and bad snap on the punt attempt are the types of plays James Wood can't afford against a team like Sherando. The Colonels also missed a 28-yard field goal on the final play of the half, fumbled the ball inside the Warrior 40, and had four dropped passes.

"We have to be a 'steady Eddie' sort of team, and we weren't able to do that tonight," Morgan said. "There were some good things that we did, but we have to be way more consistent with our blocking, with our catching and with our tackling.

"[Sherando] did a good job of making us uncomfortable [on offense]. They've got some athletes up front, and we knew that. There were times we tried to make quick, easy reads, but if the quarterback's got guys in his face, it's tough for him to make plays. We also made Jared uncomfortable by whiffing on some blocks. We've got to do a better job up front of giving him time to throw."

The Colonels did run the ball solidly at times with Ralls, Smith (13 carries, 48 yards) and Corbin (five carries, 23 yards).

James Wood hosts Skyline next Friday, while Sherando will travel to Jefferson (W.Va.).

The Cougars will be a tough test for the Warriors. But it sure feels better heading into this year's Jefferson game with a win unlike last year, when the Warriors had to deal with the sting of a second straight loss to the Colonels.

"I think this sets the bar high for us," Manuel said.

Senior linebacker Josh Metz led the Warriors with nine tackles. Jayden Patten added 10 carries for 52 yards and a TD, and the Warriors closed the scoring on a 24-yard pass from Kaden Bryant to Aiden Leatch.

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