High school football preview: With reloaded roster, James Wood eyes more wins

WINCHESTER — The James Wood High School football team may have lost a large chunk of its talent from last season, but its focus on improving each and every day remains steady.

The Colonels finished last season 4-6 (0-4 Class 4 Northwestern District), doubling their win total from the previous season when they went 2-8. This year, they will have to run out some new faces, as they return just four starters on offense and three on defense.

Head coach Todd Wilson, who is entering his second season at the helm of the program, is taking it day by day to build off of what his team did last year.

“We graduated a lot of those guys. We don’t have a ton of guys coming back that are starters,” Wilson said. “But basically, as far as what our expectations are, it’s just to get better every week. Wins, losses and how they fall, we’ll look back on the season and look at those. But the biggest thing about us and our program we talk about is just getting better every day, week by week. I think if we do that throughout the course of the year, we’ll be in good shape.”

James Wood will field 56 players on its varsity roster this season.

Wilson wasn’t ready to name any starters ahead of the team’s final scrimmage last Friday. That included the starting quarterback, a position that sophomores Owen Neal and Aidric Yurish are competing for.

Neal started as a freshman last season and took the majority of reps. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound passer completed 97 of 217 passes for 1,435 yards, nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

In comparison, Yurish, who stands at 5-foot-11 and 155 pounds, completed two of five passes for 65 yards, one touchdown and one interception in limited action.

“It’s a great competition to have when you have two kids in your program that you feel comfortable with being able to put back there,” Wilson said. “But like I said before, Owen’s got the experience. He’s coming in as kind of the starter. It’s his to keep or to lose, and it’s Aidric’s to push him and go take it, so we’ll evaluate scrimmage number two and go from there.”

Wilson added that both quarterbacks had a good day in the team’s first scrimmage against Hampshire (West Virginia) on Aug. 17.

Wilson stressed that, even though the quarterback position is often under the spotlight, every position battle is just as important. And that includes center, where the Colonels have rotated several players throughout camp.

“Everybody wants to talk about the quarterback because that’s your leader of your offense or something, but to me, if we don’t have a guy that can snap the ball back there to the quarterback, we’re in rough shape no matter who’s back there,” Wilson said. “So, the center is just as valuable as the quarterback to me.”

Senior guard Jordyn Sweetser has been impressive in camp and will be a starter on the offensive line. It’s just a matter of if he will play at left guard, where he played last season, or right guard.

“We could honestly make him play anywhere at those five spots, and he’d be fine,” Wilson said of Sweetser. “He’s a great athlete, got a great attitude this year, bought into what we’re doing around here, so really proud of Jordyn Sweetser.”

Some other names to watch up front are junior Tyler Walter, who has been working at center and right tackle, and 6-foot-5, 272-pound senior Kquinse Robinson, who played left tackle for the Colonels last fall. Sophomore guard Timber Hough, sophomore Lane Herring and junior Stewart Wiley are also competing for playing time.

Regardless of who runs out with the first-team offensive line, senior running back Kobe Mason is set to play a large role in the Colonels’ offense.

Mason returns after rushing for 263 yards and four touchdowns on 44 carries. He is set to replace Elijah Richards as the team’s lead tailback. Richards, who the Colonels lost to graduation, tallied 968 yards and two touchdowns on 211 attempts in 2023.

Mason said that his personal goal for the season is to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark and score around 10 touchdowns.

“I’m excited to just work hard and just win,” he added.

Junior running back and defensive lineman Dominik Ramirez is also primed to receive touches on offense. Ramirez was the third-leading rusher on the team last season, tallying 336 yards and 12 touchdowns on 68 carries, often taking direct snaps in James Wood’s heavy package.

James Wood returns several receivers from last year’s team, but will be without Justin Gwinner, who will not play this season because of an injury. Gwinner led the team in receptions in 2023 with 25 for 459 yards and three scores. The team also lost Sam Jackson and Casey Floyd to graduation. Those two combined for six scores and 704 yards — nearly half of the Colonels’ receiving yards last fall.

In Gwinner’s absence, the Colonels will likely turn to juniors Xander Manzo and Kaden McCullough, who accounted for 10 receptions for 178 yards. Manzo and McCullough will aim to elevate James Wood’s offense, which tallied 320.1 total yards and 21 points per game.

Defensively, James Wood allowed the most yards per game last season among area teams, giving up 389.5 total yards per match. With just three returning starters, the defensive unit will have its work cut out to bring that yardage total down.

Aiding in that effort will be Sweetser and Ramirez, who return at defensive end. The pair combined for 56 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery last fall.

Robinson and junior Jabu Nyabusha are two candidates to play on the interior of the defensive line.

The Colonels will be without linebacker Zach Smith, who graduated after recording a team-high 133 tackles in 2023. Senior linebacker Vincent Salvati will now lead the linebacker corps. Salvati was named a Second Team All-District selection last fall, recording 87 total tackles, six tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one interception in his junior campaign.

Salvati said the defense has “looked great” in camp so far, and he is expecting James Wood to get “a lot more wins on the board this year.”

“The leadership has been great throughout the first [few] weeks,” Salvati said. “The older guys are first to help out the younger guys, and the younger guys are really quickly developing.”

Junior Ivan Andrews (5-11, 170 pounds) and senior Miguel Padilla (5-10, 200) are two other returning linebackers with experience. The duo combined for 17 total tackles last season.

In the secondary, Mason should see significant playing time at cornerback after he recorded 28 total tackles and four pass breakups last season. McCullough could also see time as a safety/linebacker hybrid — a role he played last fall.

At punter and kicker, junior Aiden Bell returns to the team. Bell didn’t start last season, but Wilson has liked what he’s seen from the specialist in practice.

“He’s worked hard in the offseason with going to some kicking camps, getting some training and working on his own over the spring and summer,” Wilson said.

Whether it be limiting dropped passes or not committing penalties, Wilson has emphasized playing clean games this season.

“We got to come out and not play sloppy football,” he said. “If we come out and not play sloppy football, I feel confident that we’re in a lot of these games, all 10 games.”

James Wood will kick off its season at Warren County at 7 p.m. on Friday.

2024 Schedule Aug. 30 at Warren County, 7 p.m. Sept. 6 vs. Brentsville, 7 p.m. Sept. 13 at Skyline, 7 p.m. Sept. 20 vs. Kettle Run, 7 p.m. Sept. 28 at Handley, 1 p.m. Oct. 4 at Meridian, 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at Sherando, 7 p.m. Oct. 18 vs. Fauquier, 7 p.m. Oct. 25 off week Nov. 1 vs. Liberty, 7 p.m. Nov. 8 vs. Millbrook, 7 p.m.

2023 Results beat Warren County 13-10 lost to Brentsville 41-7 beat Skyline 41-13 lost to Kettle Run 56-20 lost to Handley 42-28 beat Meridian 28-16 lost to Sherando 41-0 beat Fauquier 20-10 lost to Liberty 35-29 lost to Millbrook 47-23

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