Week 10 high school football previews: Eagles, Colonels seek more success

Clarke County will look to remain undefeated, and James Wood will look to boost its playoff hopes in Week 10 high school football action on Friday night.

The Eagles will have their final regular season game at home when they host Luray, while the Colonels will host winless Liberty.

The following is a glance at each game:

Luray (1-7, 0-3) at Clarke County (8-0, 3-0)When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Where: Clarke County’s Wilbur Feltner Stadium

Series history: Clarke leads 17-12

Last week: Luray lost to Central 43-20; Clarke beat Strasburg 7-6

Players to watch: Luray: RB/DL Cason Bryant; QB/DB Ayden Haddock; WR/DB Nick Cubbage; RB/DL Ryan Jenkins; Clarke County: RB/DB Wyatt Palmer; QB/DB Tanner Sipe; TE/LB Carson Chinn; OL/DL Saia Tuivailala; OL/DL Joseph Stem; RB/DB Wilson Taylor.

Coaches: Luray — Lynn Hamilton (second year). Clarke County — Casey Childs (fifth year).

Last year: Clarke County shut out Luray 30-0 and held the Bulldogs to just 129 total yards despite being without star offensive and defensive tackle Matthew Tapscott in a Bull Run District matchup. The Eagles had 35 rushing attempts for 224 yards, 75 of which came from Will Booker and 67 came from Carson Rutherford. Taylor scored two TDs on just three carries in the win. Liberty had two botched punts that lost the team 53 yards.

Preview: If you told Childs back in August that his team would be 8-0 at this point of the season, he said he would’ve been a little surprised.

Flashforward nearly three months, the Eagles are ranked No. 1 in Region 2B in the Virginia High School League’s latest football power ratings after defeating Strasburg last week to remain undefeated. That win gave Clarke sole possession of first place in the Bull Run District with just two regular season games left before the playoffs.

In that 7-6 victory over Strasburg, Clarke was held to its lowest point total of the season. The Eagles will have the opportunity to churn out more of an offensive output against a Luray team that has given up 32.9 points per game this year.

After being held to just 18 rushing yards last week, Palmer (114 attempts, 994 yards, 13 TDs) will look to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark against the Bulldogs.

Joining Palmer in the backfield is Sipe, who delivered the game-winning passing TD to Taylor in the fourth quarter in last week’s win. The senior signal-caller has completed 20 of 34 passes for 319 yards, four TDs and three interceptions while adding 384 yards and six scores on the ground.

Defensively, Clarke has not allowed more than 183 yards in each of its last three games. Even when Strasburg went on a 97-yard drive on its first possession last week, the Eagles held up over the course of the game like they have all season. Chinn has a team-high 106 tackles and three interceptions, the most recent of which helped seal last week’s win. Tuivailala is second in tackles with 65 and also has a team-high 3.5 sacks.

The Eagles will look to continue their stout defensive play against Luray, which has scored 16.5 points per game but has failed to reach the double-digit scoring mark in half of its games.

Liberty (0-9, 0-3) at James Wood (5-3, 0-2)When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Where: James Wood’s Kelican Stadium

Series history: Liberty leads 15-2

Last week: Liberty lost to Handley 56-21; James Wood had an off week.

Players to watch: Liberty: QB Gavin Cook; WR/DB Christopher Cox; WR/DB Caleb Owens; RB/LB Landon Hirmer; OL/DL Dylan Murphy. James Wood: LB/HB Vincent Salvati; QB Owen Neal; OL/DL Jordyn Sweetser; RB/DB Kobe Mason; WR/DB Kaden McCullough; RB/DL Dominik Ramirez.

Coaches: Liberty — Kevin Odlum (second year). James Wood — Todd Wilson (second year).

Last year: In a game that was critical to both team’s playoff chances, Liberty defeated James Wood 35-29 in overtime. The Eagles’ Austin Mawyer passed for 418 yards and four touchdowns, including a 10-yard score after Liberty stopped the Colonels on the first possession of overtime, and ran for one. Ramirez had 123 yards and two TDs rushing and passed for 54 yards and another score for James Wood. Liberty ultimately wound up getting the No. 8 seed for the Region 4D playoffs while James Wood missed the postseason with a 4-6 record.

Preview: The Colonels are No. 7 in the Virginia High School League Region 4D ratings at 23.9. Eight teams will make the playoffs in Region 4D, and James Wood can use every win it can get. Amherst County, rated 10th, is just 1.1 points behind at 22.8. The Colonels were last in action on Oct. 18, when they beat Fauquier 34-33 for their third win by three points or less this season.

James Wood hasn’t had much luck against the Eagles in its history, but the Colonels are well-rested coming off a bye and Liberty is on a short week after losing to Handley on Saturday. The Eagles should be plenty motivated despite their record heading into their regular-season finale. In the school’s 31-year history, Liberty has never had a winless season.

The Eagles fell behind 49-0 at halftime against Handley, and their best defensive effort in terms of points this year was a 34-22 loss to Millbrook. Liberty is giving up 45 points per game.

The Eagles will go up against a James Wood team averaging 299.6 yards and 22.4 points per game. The Colonels are led by quarterback Owen Neal (80 of 139 for 1,087 yards, four TDs and seven interceptions passing; 69 carries for 415 yards and four TDs rushing) and Kobe Mason (79 carries for 454 yards, a 5.7 average, and four TDs). Xavier Price and Xander Manzo have combined for 643 yards and four TDs receiving.

Cook completed 6 of 10 passes for 137 yards and three TDs against Handley’s reserves in the second half last week. In the first half, he managed just 6 yards and threw two interceptions on 2-of-12 passing. Hirmer had 56- and 17-yard TD catches.

James Wood is allowing 333 yards and 29.2 points per game. Salvati leads the team with 87 tackles, and James Wood also features McCullough (52 tackles), Ramirez (45 tackles, four tackles) and Sweetser (44 tackles, six sacks).