Sherando 13 James Wood 7

By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star

Stephens City — As Sherando High School football coach Bill Hall watched four of his players fail to come up with a James Wood onside kick that was recovered by the Colonels’ Joel McGreevy with 2:14 remaining, his initial feelings were probably similar to many of the Warriors’ faithful.

“I [thought], ‘Holy crap, we’re in trouble,’” Hall said.

Fortunately, he’s got a pretty good defense that was more than ready to bail the Warriors out.

Ryan Kanatus intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone with no time remaining to seal No. 2 Sherando’s 13-7 victory over No. 6 James Wood Friday night in the Region II Division 4 semifinals at Arrowhead Stadium, setting off a jubilant scene on the Warriors’ sideline as several James Wood players kneeled or sat on the field in dismay.

Sherando (9-2) will move on to next week’s Region II Division 4 final against No. 1 Broad Run, which beat No. 4 Liberty 34-27 Friday. Kanatus — who wrestled the ball into his arms after Trae Tinsman’s 4th-and-goal pass from the 20 bounced off Sherando defensive back Dimitri Luck’s arms just in front of the goal line and high into the air — added the final exclamation point to a rivalry that has seen a number of games decided in the final seconds over the past four seasons.

It also added to a special night for Sherando’s defense. The Warriors (9-2) held James Wood (7-5) to a season low in points, its second lowest yardage total (234) and intercepted Tinsman four times, one more than the All-Northwestern District first team quarterback had thrown all season.

“Our defense was fired up all night,” said Sherando defensive end Jared Bentley, whose team earned its second playoff win in three years over the Colonels. “Trae’s a good passer and Brock [Lockhart’s] a good runner, and we knew we just had to give it all we had and lay it all out there.

“[Before the final drive], we were worried and we were scared. But I would look at [Conor] Recko, I would look at [Nick] Bakos, I would look at Baxter [Newman], and I would just be like, ‘They’re there for me. I got this, they’re there for me. I’m going to do my part, they’re going to do their part, and we’re just going to win this game.’ I knew deep down we couldn’t lose this football game.”

After the first quarter, it didn’t seem possible Sherando could lose. Though James Wood constantly threatened, the Warriors took control as a result of two touchdowns on their first two drives to take a 13-0 lead 11 minutes and seven seconds in.

But now, a James Wood team that had gotten back into the game on a 2-yard touchdown run by Brock Lockhart (122 yards on 31 carries) with 2:14 left was back in business after recovering an onside kick at Sherando’s 35 with still 2:14 remaining. (Despite the multiple touches and scrum to get the ball, no time ran off the clock.)

At first, it looked like James Wood would start at the Sherando 20 because of a personal foul in which a Warrior made contact with a referee’s face, but after discussing the situation, the flag was picked up.

The Colonels didn’t let that bother them and moved the ball to the Sherando 5 in four plays. Lockhart carried the ball inside the 5 on the next play, but a flag was thrown for holding in the backfield and James Wood was pushed back to the 16.

There was still 27 seconds left, but there would be no more positive plays for the Colonels. Tinsman threw incomplete twice, linebacker Baxter Newman took down Tinsman for a 4-yard loss, and Tinsman’s final heave wound up in the hands of a delirious Kanatus, who had two interceptions in place of injured starter Zach James and added 66 yards and a touchdown rushing.

Hall said James Wood’s final four plays were an example of what the Warriors did well consistently Friday. Sherando’s dime package proved effective against the Colonels’ four-wide receiver sets, and the pressure from the front three didn’t allow Tinsman to sit back and beat Sherando.

Though James Wood coach Mike Bolin was incensed at the holding call that pushed the Colonels back to their 17 — “We haven’t had a holding call in four games,” Bolin said — it was one of the last in a line of crucial blows that ultimately derailed the team’s hopes.

Tinsman threw all of his interceptions inside the Sherando 35, including one with 6:50 to go at the Warriors’ 8. A delay of game on the Colonels’ first drive of the second quarter made a 4th-and-2 into a 4th-and-7 at the Sherando 32, which made Tinsman force a throw that turned into a Kadeem Blackwood interception.

On James Wood’s first drive of the second half, an offensive pass interference penalty at the Sherando 19 pushed it back and eventually forced a punt.

But despite all that — as well as a failed 4th-and-1 conversion from the Sherando 42 on James Wood’s second drive of the second half — the Colonels kept coming.

“We’re going to battle, and battle, and battle, and battle, until they tell us we’ve got to go,” said Bolin, who coached James Wood to its first playoff win since 1970 last week. “We didn’t quit one time this year. We had a lot of adversity this year, but we didn’t quit one time. I’m so proud of the way we played. No matter what, we’re going to come out swinging.”

Ultimately, James Wood just couldn’t overcome those first two drives.

The Warriors started with 10-play, 69-yard drive capped by a Kanatus 4-yard run to go up 6-0. They added an eight-play, 59-yard drive capped by Jalen Brisco’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Boyd that gave Sherando a 13-0 lead.

Boyd, who took six direct snaps in the game, and Kanatus were two of four players who carried the ball on designed runs on those first two drives.

One of them, Tre Porter, had his right arm in a sling and didn’t play at all in the second half. But he was among the many players who helped Sherando set the tone early, and now the Warriors will attempt to win their third regional title in five years.

“It’s crazy,” Boyd said. “It’s always tough to beat a team twice, and that was a crazy game. But I had no doubt our guys could do it, and we pulled it out.”

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.